MAN  AMONG  MEN 


■"f'''S:M,M^LIsg.R,a.,i 


OFPfiSS 


I  UN  m  191ft 


BV    4010    .M5  1 

Miller,    Rufus   Wilder,    1862 

1925. 
The   minister,    a  man   among  | 


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THE  MINISTER  A  MAN 

AMONG  MEN       ^AWmi^ 

Biographical  Sketch  OF  '^^''fr>  v^^ 

Rev.  Charles  F.McCauley,D.D.  ^^^<55lf:AI  %.\^'^^ 


BT 


REV.  RUFUS  W.  MILLER,  D.D. 

Secretary,  Publication  and  Sunday  School 
Board  of  the  Reformed  Church 


HEIDELBERG    PRESS 

FIFTEENTH  AND  RACE  STREETS 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


Copyright,  1917,  by  Rufus  W.  Miller 


StbINMAN  &    FOLTZ, 

Lancaster,  Pa. 


To 

The  McCauley  Family 

Whose  devotion  to  their  parents  and 

to  their  Church  presents  an 

inspiring  example 


CONTENTS 


Page 
Foreword 9 

Chapter  I. 
Life  of  Rev.  Charles  F.  McCauley,  D.D.. . .     17 

Chapter  II. 

The  Minister's  Personahty  and  Manners. . .     69 

Chapter  III. 

The  Minister  as  a  Man  in  his  Relation  to  and 
with  Others 119 

Chapter  IV. 

The  Minister  as  a  Man  in  Relation  to  the 
Church 165 


"There  is  a  land  where  a  man,  to  live,  must 
be  a  man. 

*'It  is  a  land  of  granite  and  marble  and  por- 
phyry and  gold — and  a  man's  strength  must 
be  as  the  strength  of  the  primeval  hills.  It  is 
a  land  of  oaks  and  cedars  and  pines — and  a 
man's  mental  grace  must  be  as  the  grace  of 
the  untamed  trees.  It  is  a  land  of  far-arched 
and  unstained  skies,  where  the  wind  sweeps 
free  and  untainted,  and  the  atmosphere  is  the 
atmosphere  of  those  places  that  remain  as  God 
made  them — and  a  man's  soul  must  be  as  the 
unstained  skies,  the  unburdened  wind,  and  the 
untainted  atmosphere.  It  is  a  land  of  wide 
mesas,  of  wild,  rolling  pastures  and  broad,  un- 
tilled  valley  meadows — and  a  man's  freedom 
must  be  that  freedom  which  is  not  bounded  by 
the  fences  of  a  too  weak  and  timid  convention- 
alism. 

"In  this  land  every  man  is — by  divine  right — 
his  own  king;  he  is  his  own  jury,  his  own  counsel, 
his  own  judge,  and — if  it  must  be — his  own 
executioner." 

From  ''When  a  Man's  a  Man." 


The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 


Foreword 

TN  THE  winter  and  spring  of  1915 
-*•  the  writer  gave  by  invitation  the 
first  course  of  lectures  under  the  Rev. 
Charles  F.  McCauley  Lectureship,  Theo- 
logical Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
Lancaster,  Pa.  The  members  of  the  fac- 
ulty and  others  kindly  suggested  the 
publication  of  the  lectures,  with  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  the  late  Rev.  Charles 
F.  McCauley,  D.D. 

The  occasion  of  the  establishment  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  F.  McCauley  Lecture- 
ship on  "The  Minister  as  a  Student  of 
Human  Nature,  Clerical  Manners  and  as 
an  Executive,"  it  is  fair  to  say,  arose 
from  the  fact  that  Dr.  McCauley  fre- 
quently said  in  the  home  circle  that  he 
wished  theological  students  were  required 

(9) 


10       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

to  study  "Miller  on  Clerical  Manners." 
This  statement  had  reference  to  a  book, 
long  since  out  of  print,  entitled  "Letters 
on  Clerical  Manners  and  Habits,"  ad- 
dressed to  a  student  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  by 
Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Eccle- 
siastical History  and  Church  Govern- 
ment in  the  said  seminary,  published 
1827. 

During  the  latter  years  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley's  life  this  subject  of  Clerical 
Manners  was  frequently  discussed  in 
connection  with  the  practical  work  of 
the  ministry  among  the  young  and  es- 
pecially the  modern  Sunday  School  and 
Young  People's  Societies.  This  lecture- 
ship is,  therefore,  a  beautiful  and  ap- 
propriate memorial  which  the  daughter 
of  Dr.  McCauley  has  established,  grow- 
ing out,  not  only  of  the  conversation  of 
the  home  circle,  but  also  of  the  life  and 
character  of  Dr.  McCauley  himself. 


Foreword  1 1 

Dr.  McCauley  was  a  noble,  stately 
figure  among  us.  There  was  a  certain 
old-world  grace  and  courtesy  reflecting 
the  strength  and  dignity  of  his  soul.  In 
the  family  circle,  among  the  homes  of 
his  parishioners,  in  the  congregation  and 
Sunday  School,  in  the  wide  sweep  of  the 
community  and  in  the  church  at  large. 
Dr.  McCauley  was  known  for  his  cath- 
olicity of  mind,  his  comradeship  of  man- 
ner, his  considerateness  for  others  and 
his  charity  in  the  discernment  of  others' 
opinions. 

It  was  the  writer's  privilege  to  be 
intimately  associated  with  Dr.  McCauley 
during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  both 
as  pastor's  assistant  and  as  a  member 
of  his  home.  Speaking  from  personal 
knowledge  and  the  gracious  influence  of 
his  personality,  the  writer  aims  to  present, 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  example,  a 
few  thoughts  on  the  general  subject  of 
*'The  Minister  A  Man  Among  Men." 


«<  *  *  *  gy  g^  gjjg  gentleman,  I  mean  a  man 
completely  qualified  as  well  for  the  service  and 
good,  as  for  the  ornament  and  delight,  of  so- 
ciety. When  I  consider  the  frame  of  mind 
peculiar  to  a  gentleman,  I  suppose  it  graced 
with  all  the  dignity  and  elevation  of  spirit  that 
human  nature  is  capable  of.  To  this  I  would 
have  joined  a  clear  understanding,  a  reason 
free  from  prejudice,  a  steady  judgment,  and  an 
extensive  knowledge.  When  I  think  of  the 
heart  of  a  gentleman,  I  imagine  it  firm  and 
intrepid,  void  of  all  inordinate  passions,  and 
full  of  tenderness,  compassion,  and  benevolence. 
When  I  view  the  fine  gentleman  with  regard 
to  his  manners,  methinks  I  see  him  modest 
without  bashfulness,  frank  and  affable  without 
impertinence,  obliging  and  complaisant  without 
servility,  cheerful  and  in  good  humor  without 
noise.  These  amiable  qualities  are  not  easily 
obtained,  neither  are  there  many  men  that  have 
a  genius  to  excel  this  way.  A  finished  gentle- 
man is  perhaps  the  most  uncommon  of  all  the 
great  characters  in  life.  Besides  the  natural 
endowments  with  which  this  distinguished  man 
is  to  be  born,  he  must  run  through  a  long  series 
of  education.  Before  he  makes  his  appearance 
and  shines  in  the  world,  he  must  be  principled 
in  religion,  instructed  in  all  the  moral  virtues, 
and  led  through  the  whole  course  of  the  polite 
(13) 


arts  and  sciences.  He  should  be  no  stranger  to 
courts  and  camps;  he  must  travel  to  open  his 
mind,  to  enlarge  his  views,  to  learn  the  policies 
and  interests  of  foreign  states  as  well  as  to 
fashion  and  polish  himself  and  to  get  clear  of 
national  prejudices,  of  which  every  country  has 
its  share.  To  all  these  more  essential  improve- 
ments he  must  not  forget  to  add  the  fashionable 
ornaments  of  life,  such  as  are  the  languages 
and  the  bodily  exercises  most  in  vogue;  neither 
would  I  have  him  think  even  dress  itself  be- 
neath his  notice." 


(14) 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  F. 
McCAULEY,  D.D. 


CHARLES  F.  McCAULEY 

npHE  life  of  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Firey 
"*■  McCauley  illustrates  the  truth  of 
Emerson's  saying:  *'We  work  as  much 
by  antagonism  as  by  inspiration." 

From  his  youth  he  encountered  for- 
midable hindrances.  His  life  began  in 
a  peaceful  country  home  in  Ringgold's 
Manor,  ten  miles  south  of  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  where  he  was  born  January  5, 
1816.  His  early  education  was  secured 
in  a  country  school  of  his  native  district 
and  in  the  Reformed  Church  High  School 
at  York,  Pa.  His  parents  were  pros- 
perous and  prominent  people  in  that 
section  of  the  country,  but  by  reason  of 
the  untimely  death  of  his  father  and, 
subsequently,  the  second  marriage  of  his 
mother,  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources. 

He  entered  Yale  College  and  graduated 
from  that  institution  with  high  honors, 

(17) 


18        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

in  1838.  After  his  graduation  he  taught, 
for  two  years,  a  family  school  at  Natchez, 
Mississippi.  This  work  proved  of  great 
service  to  him  from  a  literary  point  of 
view.  Later,  he  studied  in  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  and  then  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed 
Church  at  Mercersburg,  Pa.,  graduating 
in  1843.  His  attractive  and  forceful  per- 
sonality, enriched  by  his  natural  endow- 
ments, and  his  thorough  preparation  for 
the  ministry,  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  W.  Nevin,  President 
of  the  Seminary,  through  whose  influ- 
ence and  advice  the  young  minister  was 
ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  at  Mercersburg,  Pa., 
June  11,  1843.  Indeed,  by  special  per- 
mission of  the  authorities  of  the  Sem- 
inary, Dr.  McCauley  began  his  ministry 
in  the  Mercersburg  Church  prior  to  the 
time  of  his  graduation.  Here  he  at  once 
manifested  evidences  of  indefatigable  zeal 


Charles  F.  McCauley  19 

and  singular  ability.  During  his  short 
pastorate  the  congregation  increased 
largely  in  numbers  and  made  preparation 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  church  building. 

On  November  1,  1845,  he  became  pas- 
tor of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Middle- 
town,  Maryland,  and  continued  in  this 
position  until  December  6th,  1855,  when 
he  entered  upon  the  pastorate  of  the 
Second  Reformed  Church  in  the  city  of 
Reading,  Pa. 

His  pastorate  at  Middletown  was 
marked  by  an  unusual  intimacy  between 
pastor  and  people.  This  was  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  when  he  resigned  the 
congregation  sent  a  protest  and  a  large 
delegation  to  the  Classis  and  for  hours, 
on  the  floor  of  this  judicatory,  made  an 
earnest  effort  to  prevent  the  dissolution 
of  the  pastorate.  His  strong  conviction 
of  duty,  however,  led  him  to  go  to  Read- 
ing, in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  the  Mid- 
dletown people  offered,  if  he  would  re- 


20        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

main,  to  pay  him  a  salary  twice  as  large 
as  that  which  he  would  receive  in  Read- 
ing. 

A  significant  feature  of  his  Middletown 
pastorate  was  the  erection  of  a  separate 
building  (1846)  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday 
School,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  paroch- 
ial school — a  school  with  a  very  extended 
curriculum,  organized  and  carried  for- 
ward by  the  congregation,  under  the 
general  direction  of  the  pastor.  During 
this  period,  also,  the  church  building 
was  remodeled  and  the  country  congre- 
gation at  Burkittsville  was  constituted 
a  charge  by  itself.  As  late  as  1893  the 
pastor  of  the  Middletown  congregation. 
Rev.  T.  F.  Hoffmeier,  wrote  concerning 
Dr.  McCauley:  "He  was  held  in  high 
esteem  not  only  by  the  members  of  his 
own  church  but  by  members  of  all 
churches,  and  by  persons  of  no  church. 
It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  no  minister 
ever  resided  here  who  was  so  universally 
beloved  as  Dr.  McCauley." 


Charles  F.  McCauley  21 

In  those  days  he  frequently  visited 
his  people  on  horseback.  Members  of 
the  church  who  were  little  children  dur- 
ing his  pastorate  have  given  illustrations 
of  his  attention  and  kindness  to  them. 
They  relate  how,  in  the  home,  he  would 
speak  to  them,  sometimes  playing  games, 
such  as  marbles,  with  the  boys,  and  how, 
quite  often,  he  would  invite  children 
to  ride  with  him  on  horseback.  After 
church  service  he  would  frequently  lift 
little  children  into  the  carriages  of  their 
parents. 

Dignified  in  appearance  and  manner, 
he  was  kind  and  gentle  in  his  bearing, 
always  a  real  gentleman  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word,  and  never  too  formal  to 
draw  to  himself  the  little  ones  of  the 
flock.  That  he  was  a  faithful  and  fear- 
less watchman  upon  the  walls  of  Zion 
is  evidenced  by  a  stirring  address  on  the 
subject  of  Temperance  which  he  deliv- 
ered at  Middletown,  Maryland,  in  1846, 


22       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

on  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  of  a 
Bible  by  the  ladies  of  Middletown  to 
Catocine  Division  No.  30,  Sons  of  Tem- 
perance. By  request,  the  address  was 
published.  It  is  an  eloquent  and  fearless 
arraignment  of  the  liquor  traffic  and  of 
the  attendant  evils  of  intemperance.  It 
commends  the  use  of  the  Bible  as  a  chart, 
and  its  principles  and  teachings  as  the 
only  security  for  individuals  and  the 
state.  Here  is  a  passage  worthy  of  proc- 
lamation from  every  pulpit: 

"Rush,  then,  O!  rush  to  the  rescue 
of  suffering  humanity.  Save  the  drunk- 
ard from  the  disgrace  that  awaits  him. 
Open  his  eyes  to  the  appalling  exhibition 
of  misery  which  is  seen  in  his  own  family; 
unstop  his  ears  to  the  plaintive  cries 
that  come  from  the  broken  heart  of  the 
wife,  whom,  on  the  bridal  eve,  he  swore 
solemnly  before  men  and  in  the  sight  of 
Heaven  to  protect,  to  honor  and  to  love, 
and  soften  his  feelings  that  he  may  once 


Charles  F.  McCauley  23 

more  become  capable  of  sympathetic  and 
natural  affection.  Dash  the  scarlet  gob- 
let untasted  from  his  thirsty  lips  and 
frown  upon  the  bacchanalian  priesthood 
who  minister  to  his  vitiated  taste!  Yes, 
frown  upon  them  until  they  quail  be- 
neath your  withering  glance — for  al- 
though their  service  is  authorized  by  the 
law  of  God  and  man,  from  what  strange 
and  unheard-of  principle  is  it  that  a  man 
finds  no  mercy  when  he  administers 
poison  to  his  neighbors,  but  must  be 
rewarded  for  his  labor  when  he  presents 
the  intoxicating  bowl,  a  slower  but  no 
less  certain  poison? 

"Should  any  one  pick  your  pocket  in 
this  crowd,  he  is  indictable  for  an  offense 
against  the  State.  Whence  thus  is  it, 
that  he  has  done  a  meritorious  act  who 
has  stolen  away  the  reason  of  some  un- 
fortunate creature.'^ 

*'We  have  laws  to  punish  him  who  is 
accessory   to   the   injury   to   property — 


24       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

how  then  shall  we  define  the  conduct 
which  sends  forth  the  drunkard,  reeling 
through  the  streets  at  the  dead  of  night, 
with  a  lighted  cigar,  to  wander  amid  the 
combustible  materials  that  are  often 
found  in  every  village  and  city?  But 
worse,  far  worse  than  all,  by  grogsellers 
the  torch  of  discord  and  contention  is 
applied  to  our  domestic  relations  and, 
instead  of  joy,  peace  and  harmony,  dis- 
sension, bickering  and  sorrow  mingle  to- 
gether around  the  fireside.  And  to  close 
the  scene,  insanity  and  death  are  by  them 
spread  broadcast  in  the  land. 

"Arise,  then,  and  resist  the  enemies  of 
Temperance,  the  enemies  of  man,  and 
that  you  may  do  so  with  the  utmost 
efficiency,  take  this  holy  Book  as  the 
chart  by  which  to  steer  your  course," 

Illustrating  the  affectionate  relations 
which  should  subsist  between  pastor  and 
people,  as  well  as  the  tenderness,  humil- 
ity and  gratitude  of  Dr.  McCauley,  the 


Charles  F.  McCauley  25 

closing  paragraph  of  his  farewell  sermon 
to  the  Middletown  congregation,  deliv- 
ered December  6,  1855,  is  well  worth 
reading.  The  text  was  2  Peter,  Chapter 
1,  Verse  15,  "Moreover  I  will  endeavor 
that  ye  may  be  able,  after  my  decease, 
to  have  these  things  always  in  remem- 
brance." 

"But  Heaven  seems  to  beckon  me 
away.  O,  may  she  give  me  strength, 
as  this  gloomy  day  seems  in  sympathy 
with  my  saddest  heart.  How  severe  the 
trial  as  I  at  this  moment  look  back  upon 
the  past.  For  more  than  ten  years  I 
have  had  freely  extended  to  me  and 
mine,  amid  many  sorrows,  the  kind  at- 
tention of  my  faithful  physicians  and 
from  farmers,  mechanics,  merchants,  men 
of  business,  laborers,  all,  favors  that 
bind  me  with  a  power  to  you  that  noth- 
ing can  overcome.  To  one  and  all  I  feel 
bound  by  the  ties  of  friendship.  But, 
brethren  and   sisters,   the  parting  hour 


26        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

has  come,  and  we  who  have  hved  so  long 
in  the  sacred  intercourse  which  holds 
between  pastor  and  people  must  now 
clasp  each  other's  hand  for  the  last  time, 
in  this  capacity,  to  meet  again  as  wit- 
nesses at  the  bar  of  God. 

"If  this  intercourse  has  ever  been 
marred  by  an  unholy  feeling,  if  in  the  heat 
of  excitement  our  infirmity  has  appeared 
in  'hasty  words  uttered,'  or  rash  acts 
committed,  let  this  day,  whose  fleeting 
hours  are  closing  over  the  grave  of  our 
intimacy,  quench  every  burning  thought, 
bury  in  oblivion  every  unforgiven  wrong, 
that  no  shadow  may  rest  on  the  memory 
of  our  fellowship,  that  no  throb  may  rend 
the  heart,  when  we  learn  that  one  whose 
frailties  we  never  forgave  can  no  longer 
be  affected  by  our  contrition,  nor  reached 
by  our  friendship.  Let  all  hearts  burst 
the  chains  of  selfishness  and  commingle 
in  pure  union  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  27 

"Beloved,  our  pilgrimage  as  pastor  and 
people  is  over.  More  than  ten  years  of 
Christian  intercourse  have  bound  round 
our  hearts  the  bonds  of  friendship  and 
love.  The  ties  have  been  interwoven 
with  our  very  being's  growth — ties  which 
here  are  seemingly  severed,  yet  ties  by 
which  we  shall  find  ourselves  indissolubly 
bound  together  even  in  the  eternal  world. 
Though  one  in  Christ  wherever  our  lot 
be  cast,  yet  how  hard  to  wrench  our 
hearts  asunder  for  a  little  while,  until 
the  weary  wanderings  of  earth  are  over — 
how  harsh  that  word,  farewell: 

'A  word  that  must  be  and  hath  been, 
A  sound  that  makes  us  linger;  yet — 
farewell!'" 

Dr.  McCauley  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Church, 
Reading,  Pa.,  December  16,  1855.  This 
was  two  months  and  a  half  after  the 
resignation  of  Rev.  Moses  Kieffer,  who 


28        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

had  accepted  the  call  to  a  Professorship 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Tiffin, 
Ohio.  The  congregation  extended  Dr. 
McCauley  a  call  before  hearing  him 
preach.  It  was  promptly  declined.  Af- 
ter earnest  solicitation  he  preached  before 
the  congregation  October  21,  1855,  but 
expressed  from  the  pulpit  his  determina- 
tion not  to  accept  a  call  to  become  the 
pastor.  The  following  day  the  Consis- 
tory acquainted  him  with  the  dangers 
which  threatened  the  congregation  and 
appealed  so  strongly  to  him  that  he 
finally  yielded,  to  become  the  leader  of 
what  seemed  to  be  a  forlorn  hope. 

The  history  of  the  Second  Church  il- 
lustrates the  difficulties  which  occasion- 
ally attend  the  transition  from  the  Ger- 
man to  the  English  language.  People 
feel  most  strongly  on  the  subject  of  their 
religion  and  of  their  racial  and  national 
characteristics.  It  required  great  tact 
and  wise  leadership  to  meet  the  situation. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  29 

Rev.  John  Casper  Bucher,  pastor  of  the 
First  Reformed  Church,  Reading,  sought 
to  introduce  EngHsh  preaching  with  the 
German.  He  was  of  the  conviction  that 
that  old  church  should  send  out  a  colony 
to  establish  a  purely  English  congrega- 
tion. He  was  partly  successful  in  his 
efforts,  for  twenty -five  members  of  the 
First  Church,  along  with  a  few  others, 
organized  the  Second   Church  in  July, 

1848.  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  C.  Porter  was 
the  first  pastor  of  the  Second  congrega- 
tion, conducting  services  in  a  public 
school  building.     After  a  short  pastorate, 

1849,  Dr.  Porter  accepted  the  Professor- 
ship of  Natural  Science  at  Mercersburg 
and  the  congregation  returned  for  worship 
to  the  old  church,  but  retained  its  organi- 
zation. Later,  a  building  was  erected 
and  dedicated  amidst  many  anxious  hopes 
and  fears. 

Embarrassments   of   the   most   trying 
character    now    succeeded    each    other. 


30        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

The  struggle  for  existence  of  the  new 
church,  during  both  the  later  period  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Kieffer's  pastorate  and  the 
beginning  of  Dr.  McCauley's,  is  marked 
by  a  zeal  and  self-denial  creditable  in  the 
highest  degree  to  the  worthy  Christian 
men  and  women  with  whose  tears  it  was 
baptized.  Other  denominations  made 
overtures  to  it  to  pay  the  debt  and  con- 
tribute six  hundred  dollars  a  year  to 
the  support  of  the  pastor,  on  condition 
that  the  congregation  transfer  denomina- 
tional relationship.  The  propositions 
were  promptly  declined. 

Dr.  McCauley  began  his  ministry  on 
a  promise  of  a  salary  of  seven  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  The  little  congregation 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  members  was 
frequently  dilatory  in  payment  of  the 
salary.  The  people  were  generous  but 
they  were  struggling  to  liquidate  a  heavy 
church  debt.  The  mother  church  failed 
to  render  the  assistance  promised.    There 


Charles  F.  McCauley  31 

were  many  who  did  not  look  favorably 
upon  an  exclusively  English  congregation. 
In  a  letter  to  the  Consistory  of  the 
First  German  Reformed  Church,  as  it  was 
then  known,  the  statement  was  made  that 
"the  necessities  of  the  congregation  were  met, 
for  the  most  part,  by  a  voluntary  increased 
taxation  assumed  by  the  members  of  the  con- 
gregation and  others,  and  that,  by  putting 
forth  every  ability  to  the  utmost  and  the  exer- 
cise of  the  strictest  economy  and  self-denial, 
the  interest  was  paid  and  the  debt  reduced 
considerably,  but,  under  the  embarrassing  influ- 
ence of  the  late  pecuniary  crisis  and  the  loss  of 
some  of  the  pillars  of  our  church,  by  death,  we 
feel  that  God  has  hedged  up  our  path  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  way  to  go  forward  without 
aid  from  abroad,  and,  sustaining  the  relation 
to  you  of  a  daughter  to  a  mother,  we  naturally 
turn  our  eyes  homeward  first,  and  this  we  do 
the  more  cheerfully  because  we  hope  that  in 
our  early  home  the  parental  heart  still  beats 
affectionately  and  that  our  wants  will  elicit 
a  corresponding  sympathy.  With  a  church  debt 
upon  us  we  are  not  able  to  accomplish  our 
mission  for  reasons  which  you  can  appreciate. 


32       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Our  own  efiEorts  to  remove  it  are  proving  greatly 
injurious  to  the  prospects  of  the  congregation. 
With  us,  individual  power  has  been  exhausted 
and  what  to  do,  we  know  not.  But  rest  assured 
that  no  stone  shall  remain  unturned  if  thereby 
we  may  perform  the  work  assigned  us  and 
promote  the  interests  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church  in  this  city.  To  remove  the  debt  by 
turning  away  our  home  and  severing  ourselves 
from  present  ecclesiastical  relations  and  friends 
would  be  to  us  distressing  beyond  measure. 
Of  this  you  have  ample  assurance  in  our  past 
refusal  to  do  so,  a  refusal  which  has  cost  us 
a  large  amount  of  money  but  with  which  we 
are  well  satisfied  if,  in  the  end,  our  self-denial 
be  no  loss  to  our  beloved  Zion,  which  God  and 
the  Church  forbid. 

"To  you  we  now  look  for  aid  in  our  extremity. 
We  come  as  a  daughter  to  a  mother  and  tell 
our  difficulties  and  dangers,  confident  in  the 
expectation  that  your  wisdom  and  piety  will 
direct  a  proper  course  of  action  whilst  holding 
ourselves  in  readiness  to  answer  any  questions 
or  make  any  further  explanations.  We  anx- 
iously await  your  reply. 

"In  behalf  of  the  Second  Church." 


Charles  F.  McCauley  33 

An  unfavorable  answer  was  made  to 
this  appeal.  Then  an  appeal  for  aid 
was  made  through  Synod,  which  resulted 
in  only  a  single  contribution.  Personal 
application  was  at  last  found  necessary. 
There  was  danger  of  foreclosure  on  the 
property.  In  the  midst  of  a  snow-storm 
and  under  discouraging  circumstances, 
Dr.  McCauley  went  on  this  mission,  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1860.  From  the  first  effort 
$3192.95  was  collected  without  any 
expense  to  the  congregation.  The  total 
sum  collected  by  him  and  paid  over  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  church  amounted  to 
$7256.27.  His  letters  in  the  "Reformed 
Church  Messenger,"  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  individual  gifts  from  various 
congregations  and  giving  his  experiences, 
make  interesting  reading.  In  his  first 
letter,  speaking  of  presenting  himself,  as 
circumstances  allowed,  at  the  door  of  the 
church,  asking  aid  for  immediate  relief, 
he  says:   "Had  I  consulted  inclination  I 


34        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

would  have  declined  the  undertaking,  but 
the  pressing  demands  of  the  congregation 
render  it  necessary  for  me  to  be  forgetful 
of  personal  feeling.'* 

From  time  to  time  during  a  period  of 
three  years,  Dr.  McCauley  visited  con- 
gregations in  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land. He  made  frequent  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  kindness  and  sympathy  he 
received  from  pastors  and  people,  and 
of  the  formation  of  friendships.  He  gave 
interesting  accounts  of  the  progress  of 
the  congregations  visited  and  referred 
more  than  once  to  incidents  calculated 
to  cheer  the  heart  and  illustrate  personal 
and  congregational  piety.  Evidently  his 
visits  to  the  home  and  his  public  ad- 
dresses touched  the  hearts  even  of  chil- 
dren. Preaching  in  his  former  field  at 
Middletown,  on  one  of  these  trips,  after 
having  received  from  the  congregation, 
a  few  years  previously,  a  large  contribu- 
tion for  the  church  debt,  he  obtained  a 


Charles  F.  McCauley  35 

second  liberal  offering  and,  as  he  was 
leaving  the  church,  had  the  following 
interesting  experience:  "A  little  friend, 
Maggie  Smith,  with  smiling  counten- 
ance, placed  an  apple  in  my  hand  whilst 
bidding  me  a  cordial  welcome.  Subse- 
quently, I  presented  it  to  a  female  friend 
who,  in  connection  with  several  others, 
concluded  that  such  an  appropriation  of 
it,  as  private  property,  would  be  a  viola- 
tion of  my  trust,  and  hence  they  deter- 
mined to  sell  it  for  the  use  of  the  Second 
Church.  The  issue  of  the  matter  was 
that,  after  passing  hands  a  number  of 
times,  they  paid  me  $15.36  as  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale.  It  brought  as  much  as 
$3.50  in  a  single  instance." 

While  soliciting  in  Allentown,  where  a 
number  of  liberal  subscriptions  were 
made,  a  little  girl  who  had  been  taught 
to  give  to  all  benevolent  causes,  after 
hearing  a  statement  of  the  condition  of 
the  Second  Church,  expressed  her  regret 


36        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

that  her  savings-box  contained  only  20 
cents,  and  at  the  same  time  her  intention 
to  give  what  she  had.  Her  mother  sug- 
gested that  the  sum  was  too  small  to 
offer,  but  the  girl  remained  unchanged 
in  her  purpose,  and  said  that  she  wished 
to  give,  not  only  to  aid  the  present  neces- 
sity, but  that  in  case  of  her  future  re- 
moval to  Reading,  she  might  be  able 
to  find  a  house  in  which  to  worship  God 
in  the  erection  of  which  she  had  borne 
a  part.  Dr.   McCauley  significantly 

added,  "Would  that  all  God's  people 
felt  as  that  little  girl  does.  Then  no 
good  cause  would  be  permitted  to  lan- 
guish for  want  of  funds." 

At  Carlisle,  speaking  of  the  delightful 
hospitality  of  the  people  and  the  kindness 
of  the  pastor  and  elder,  he  said:  "By  the 
way  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention 
a  pleasing  little  incident  which  occurred. 
Master  Stephen  R.  Huyett,  having 
learned  that  a  collection  would  probably 


Charles  F.  McCauley  37 

be  taken  in  our  behalf  during  the  Sabbath 
service,  prepared  himself  with  a  dollar 
of  his  savings  as  a  contribution,  but,  no 
such  collection  being  taken,  he  embraced 
the  first  opportunity  to  hand  it  to  me  in 
person  and  he  did  it  with  a  gracefulness 
and  modesty  that  would  have  done  honor 
to  an  older  member  of  the  church. 
Whilst  he  is  the  youngest  confirmed 
member,  he  is,  if  I  may  judge  from  what 
I  see  and  hear,  all  things  considered,  one 
of  the  most  liberal." 

Dr.  McCauley  in  after  years  often 
referred  to  his  series  of  journeys  extend- 
ing over  4500  miles  and  occupying  weeks 
at  a  time.  It  was  a  difficult  task,  done 
at  great  personal  sacrifice,  illustrating 
also  the  singleness  of  purpose,  the  devo- 
tion and  the  persistent  energy  of  the 
man. 

The  successful  establishment  of  this 
English  congregation  had  a  profound  in- 
fluence  upon   the   mother  church,  and, 


38       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

by  the  wise  suggestion  and  influence  of 
Dr.  McCauley,  was  the  means  of  bring- 
ing Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Bausman  to 
Reading,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Church. 
During  the  long  pastorate  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley, the  Second  Church  became  noted 
for  its  benevolent  giving.  It  grew  strong 
and  influential. 

Frequently  its  annual  contributions 
for  benevolence  exceeded  the  amount  of 
its  own  current  expenses.  It  returned 
many-fold  the  generous  support  accorded 
it  in  its  time  of  stress  and  struggle. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  thirty -fifth  anni- 
versary of  Dr.  McCauley's  pastorate, 
an  address  was  made  by  Dr.  Bausman. 
He  said  it  was  through  Dr.  McCauley's 
activity  that  he  came  to  Reading,  and 
at  a  time  when  he  was  an  invalid  at 
Chambersburg  and  not  expected  to  sur- 
vive many  years.  Dr.  Bausman's  friends 
at  Chambersburg  tried  to  persuade  Dr. 
McCauley  not  to  take  a  supposedly  dy- 


Charles  F.  McCauley  39 

ing  man  from  Chambersburg,  when  he 
repHed:  "Reading  is  as  near  Heaven  as 
Chambersburg  is  and  if  he  dies  I  will 
guarantee  him  a  proper  funeral."  During 
those  days  when  Dr.  Bausman  looked 
to  Dr.  McCauley  as  his  chief  counselor 
and  friend,  their  souls  became  knit  to- 
gether in  the  bonds  of  brotherhood.  The 
nature  of  this  intimacy  Dr.  Bausman 
strongly  expressed  in  these  words: 
"Twice  Dr.  McCauley  has  knelt  at  my 
bedside  in  prayer  when  I  was  supposed 
to  be  dying.  Twice  I  have  passed 

through  a  similar  ordeal  at  his  bedside." 
Rev.  Dr.  James  I.  Good,  who  also 
spoke  on  this  anniversary  occasion,  said 
he  was  a  Sunday  School  scholar  when 
Dr.  McCauley  first  came  to  Reading 
and  that  the  good  Doctor  was  always 
a  friend  of  the  children.  He,  himself, 
had  gone  out  from  the  Second  Reformed 
Sunday  School  into  the  ministry,  as 
others  have  done,  and  he  willingly  bore 


40        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

testimony  to  the  efficiency  of  the  pastor's 
work. 

Confirmatory  of  Dr.  Good's  reference 
to  Dr.  McCauley's  kindness  to  children 
may  be  mentioned  the  testimony  of  an- 
other minister  who  was  a  son  of  the 
Second  Church.  He  relates  that  as  a 
boy  he  would  run  several  blocks  in  order 
to  have  Dr.  McCauley  speak  to  him. 

In  an  editorial  in  the  Reading  "Tele- 
gram" there  was  expressed  the  high 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  and  the 
character  of  his  work  as  pastor  of  the 
Second  Church.     The  editor  said: 

"A  pastor  for  thirty-five  years,  a  record  of 
remarkable  trials  and  experiences  crowned  by 
a  success  due  to  an  untiring  industry  and  per- 
sonal zeal  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  in  which 
he  was  engaged;  that  is  its  own  brilliant  com- 
parison. 

"The  masterly  executive  ability  which  gave 
an  unpropitious  project  a  place  among  the 
foremost  achievements  is  not  the  only  measure 
of    merit.     From    the   pulpit    there   came    the 


Charles  F.  McCauley  41 

finished  words  of  scholarship,  profound  Bible 
lore  and  practical  thoughts  on  the  duties  of 
Christians.  These  efforts  were  perhaps  never 
more  effective  and  popular  than  now,  for  they 
are  presented  with  apostolic  authority  and  are 
like  richest  gems  set  in  classic  beauty  and  of 
rare  value." 

Dr.  McCauley  was  in  a  real  sense  the 
father  of  the  Reformed  Church  Extension 
in  Reading.  The  place  of  leadership, 
however,  is  willingly  accorded  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Bausman,  but  the  two  men  were 
inseparably  associated  in  every  forward 
movement.  Both  men  were  remarkable 
for  their  modesty  and  humility  of  char- 
acter; both  were  of  marked  courage  and 
unselfishness  in  the  performance  of  duty. 

The  relationship  between  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley and  his  people  was  most  intimate. 
The  congregation  was  devoted  to  its 
pastor  and  was  mindful  of  his  self-sac- 
rificing labors  and  his  large,  noble  per- 
sonality. As  the  infirmities  of  years 
came   upon   him   the   congregation   was 


42       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

glad  to  lighten  his  labors  by  giving  him 
an  assistant.  In  September,  1886,  Rev. 
Rufus  W.  Miller  was  ordained  and  for- 
mally inducted  into  the  office  of  Assistant 
to  the  Pastor.  He  continued  as  assistant 
until  the  resignation  of  Dr.  McCauley. 
It  may  be  well  to  note  that  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley, during  these  five  years  of  associ- 
ated service,  usually  preached  once  a 
Sunday,  and  entered  heartily  into  the 
plans  and  activities  of  his  assistant. 

Always  a  wise  counselor,  he  never, 
by  word  or  suggestion,  checked  youthful 
enthusiasm.  He  approved  of  the  new 
methods  of  organization,  such  as  the 
Home  Department  of  the  Sunday  School, 
established  in  May,  1887,  the  grading  of 
the  Sunday  School,  Young  People's  So- 
cieties, special  work  for  young  men,  etc. 
He  joined  heartily  in  the  advocacy  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip, 
which  was  started  in  the  Second  Church, 
May  4,  1888. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  43 

The  congregation  grew  most  rapidly 
and  prospered  greatly  the  last  five  years 
of  Dr.  McCauley's  pastorate,  because  he 
was  so  wise  and  tactful  in  associating 
with  himself  a  young  assistant  and 
worked  with  him  in  such  complete  unity 
and  harmony.  Three  hundred  members 
were  added  during  these  five  years  and 
$30,000  given  to  benevolent  objects. 

During  the  thirty-six  years  of  Dr. 
McCauley's  ministry  in  Reading  the 
number  of  Reformed  churches  in  that 
city  grew  from  two  to  twelve.  The  last 
year  of  his  ministry  was  marked  by  the 
erection  of  a  building  for  Faith  Reformed 
Church,  the  money  for  which  was  given 
by  members  of  the  Second  Church  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  McCauley  and  his 
assistant.  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Miller,  D.D. 
Indeed  this  spirit  of  church  extension 
served  to  hasten  the  resignation  of  Dr. 
McCauley  as  pastor.  The  necessity  of 
taking  care  of  Faith  Church  as  a  mission. 


44        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

because  of  its  character  and  location, 
along  with  the  large  and  growing  work  of 
the  Second  congregation  and  the  failing 
health  of  Dr.  McCauley,  made  his  retire- 
ment imperative  in  order  to  meet  the 
new  situation.  He  presented  his  resig- 
nation and  was  made  pastor  emeritus  for 
life. 

In  his  farewell  sermon,  given  Novem- 
ber 26,  1891,  he  said: 

"Sorrow  and  joy  have  been  my  lot  and  death 
has  three  times  entered  my  household.  God  has 
given  me  his  repeated  benediction  and  many 
favors  have  I  received  from  you.  I  thank  God 
for  having  counted  me  worthy  to  be  put  into 
the  ministry,  although  more  lucrative  pursuits 
and  enjoyments  were  held  out  to  me  when  I 
began.  But  to  me  this  is  a  sad  day  for  it  severs 
ties  which  bind  my  heart  strongly  to  you.  It 
is  entwined  with  the  cradles  of  your  children 
and  the  coffins  of  your  dear  ones.  Ties  which 
take  hold  of  your  sick  beds  and  bind  me  to  your 
social  hearth,  blazing  with  the  fires  of  kindness. 

"I  bespeak  a  welcome  for  my  successor  but 
I  ask,  for  the  pastor  who  has  been  permitted 


Charles  F.  McCauley  45 

to  pilot  you  for  thirty-six  years  of  the  best 
years  of  his  life,  that  you  may  keep  a  chair 
by  the  hearthstone  which  the  old  Scotch  re- 
served for  worn-out  parents. 

"Why  do  I  retire  when  so  essentially  bound 
to  you  and  yours?  Failing  strength  reminds 
me  of  my  inability  to  do  what  must  be  done 
in  our  enlarged  work.  I  would  retire  grace- 
fully when  our  work  is  most  flourishing  and 
in  a  condition  to  still  further  advance.  'Ye 
are  my  crown  and  rejoicing,'" 

Dr.  McCauley  did  not  long  survive  his 
active  pastorate.  He  died  June  19,  1892, 
aged  seventy-six  years,  five  months  and 
fourteen  days.  In  his  last  hours,  in  his 
delirium,  he  was  apparently  engaged  in 
pastoral  labors,  in  preaching  and  an- 
nouncing hymns.  He  repeated  the  hymn, 
*' Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul"  and  the 
Twenty-third  Psalm  and  his  warrior 
spirit  left  the  body  with  the  last  words 
upon  his  lips:  "A  few  more  struggles  and 
the  battle  will  be  won."  Just  before, 
he  had  spoken  and  quoted  to  his  daugh- 


46        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

ter:  "The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd"  and 
"I  Know  that  my  Redeemer  Liveth." 

Yes,  the  Lord  is  "a  very  present  help 
in  time  of  trouble." 

It  is  well  never  to  forget  that  the 
success  of  a  pastor's  life  is  conditioned 
largely  by  his  family  and  especially  that 
of  his  helpmeet — his  wife.  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley  was  blessed  with  a  wife  fully 
devoted  to  his  work.  Mrs.  Maria  Mc- 
Cauley  was  one  of  seven  daughters  of 
Adam  Hoke,  born  in  Mercersburg,  Pa., 
January  17,  1825.  Adam  Hoke  was  a 
man  of  substantial  means  and  large  in- 
telligence, a  member  of  the  Mercersburg 
congregation.  Several  of  his  daughters 
married  ministers.  On  May  2,  1844, 
while  Dr.  McCauley  was  pastor  at  Mer- 
cersburg, they  were  united  in  the  bonds 
of  matrimony.  Eight  children,  three 
sons  and  five  daughters,  were  born  to 
them,  as  follows:  Martha  Ellen,  who 
married  Mr.  William  M.  Fox,  Reading, 


Charles  F.  McCauley  47 

Pa.;  Charles  A.  H.,  who  graduated  with 
distinction  at  West  Point  MiHtary  Acad- 
emy in  1870  and  served  the  government 
continuously  for  forty-three  years,  being 
retired  with  the  rank  of  Colonel  and 
Assistant  Quartermaster  General  U.  S.  A. 
He  served  with  distinction  in  this  country 
through  several  Indian  campaigns  and 
in  the  Philippine  Islands;  Edwin  B.,  who 
was  engaged  in  the  iron  business;  Harriet 
Olivia,  who,  after  the  death  of  her  mother, 
became  his  housekeeper  and  after  her 
father's  death  married  Hon.  Andrew  R. 
Schnebley,  Mercersburg,  Pa.,  and  by  her 
will  established  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  F. 
McCauley  Lectureship  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  in  the  Reformed  Church,  Lan- 
caster, Pa.;  Emily  A.  M.,  who  married 
Luther  A.  Yarrington,  connected  with 
the  Reading  Iron  Works;  Clara,  who 
taught  for  several  years  in  the  AUentown 
College  for  Women;  Katharine  Louise, 
who    married    Rev.    Rufus    W.    Miller, 


48       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

D.D.,  Secretary,  Publication  and  Sunday 
School  Board  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Harry  Weber,  who 
graduated  with  distinction  at  Yale  Uni- 
versity, 1888,  fifty  years  after  his  father's 
graduation,  and  who  is  Captain  in  the 
Artillery  Department  of  the  United 
States  Army. 

As  illustrating  the  faith  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley  and  the  truly  Christian  life  of 
the  home  circle,  there  is  given  herewith 
an  extract  from  a  letter  written  to  his 
daughter  while  on  a  visit  to  her  aunt  at 
Mercersburg,  Pa.: 

Reading,  Pa. 
July  22,  1881. 
Dear  Daughter, 

We  thank  you  for  your  daily  letters  &  postals 
as  they  prevent  unnecessary  anxiety.  We  are 
so  glad  you  seem  to  be  improving  &  hope  for 
the  best  results  from  your  visit  now  that  you 
have  gotten  over  the  overexertion  you  made  in 
the  journey.  Please  tell  uncles  Andrew  & 
Henry  &  Aunt  Hally  how  very  much  we  are 


Charles  F.  McCauley  49 

indebted  for  their  kindness,  and  especially  do 
we  feel  thankful  to  uncle  &  aunt  for  the  great 
care  they  have  shown  for  you.  I  am  sure  they 
have  the  smiles  of  your  dear  sainted  mother  for 
all  their  manifestations  of  love.  Aunt  Hally 
had  no  greater  friend  living  than  your  mother. 
She  felt  friendly  to  every  one  but  her  love  for 
your  aunt  knew  no  bounds.  She  spoke  so  to 
me  on  the  last  night  of  her  life  &  I  know  that 
death  has  not  broken  that  love  for  it  was  a  love 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  our  dear  Redeemer, 
&  no  power,  neither  life,  nor  death,  can  break 
that  kind  of  attachment.  It  is  the  love  of 
your  mother  that  is  bearing  so  rich  a  harvest  to 
you  now — And  I  know  you  will  properly  appre- 
ciate the  kindness  shown  by  uncle  &  aunt.  It 
is  hard  to  give  up  so  good  a  mother  but  God  does 
all  things  well  yet  it  is  very  difficult  to  realize 
this  comforting  assurance.  Still  by  faith  we 
may  rest  assured  of  this  fact.  We  may  believe 
in  the  presence  of  a  divine  artificer  sitting  at  the 
loom  of  what  men  call  chance  or  fate,  &  weaving 
a  fabric  out  of  unseemly  material  that  will  be 
both  precious  &  beautiful,  "All  things  work 
together  for  good"  to  God's  people.  Yes,  they 
so  work  now.  Not  some  things,  not  joyous 
things    but    all    things.     You    take    unseemly 


50       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

colors,  discordant  &  jarring  notes,  separate 
wheels,  or  cogs,  or  parts  of  wheels,  &  there  seems 
nothing  in  them  worth  notice.  Yet  mingle  the 
colors,  properly  placed  on  the  canvas,  combine 
the  notes,  &  arrange  the  wheels,  and  what  a 
beautiful  picture,  what  a  soul-stirring  anthem, 
what  a  perfect  &  admirable  machine  is  the 
result — We  see  so  small  a  segment  of  the  grand 
cycle  of  God's  providence  that  we  can  not  judge 
of  the  ultimate  results.  Could  we  see  a  greater 
segment  many  times  we  would  no  doubt  rejoice 
where  now  we  weep.  Our  only  comfort  is  that 
God  is  our  Father,  infinitely  wise  &  infinitely 
kind,  and  we  may  trust  him  with  unwavering 
confidence.  "What  he  does  we  know  not  now, 
but  we  shall  know  hereafter."  Our  afflictions 
must  be  interpreted  in  this  light.  He  allows 
sorrows  to  overtake  us  often  as  the  fruit  of  our 
own  impudence  or  ignorance  for  our  benefit  & 
his  glory.  We  know  not  at  times  how  to  read 
these  dealings  but  if  we  try  prayerfully  to  live 
near  the  Lord  he  will  show  bis  meaning  in  the 
end. 

Now  "we  study,  always  failing! 

God  can  read  it,  we  must  wait; 
Wait,  until  He  teach  the  mystery, 


Charles  F.  McCauley  51 

Then  the  wisdom-woven  history 
Faith  shall  read  and  love  translate. 

Leaflets  now  unpaged  &  scattered 
Time's  great  library  receives; 
When  eternity  shall  bind  them, 
Golden  volumes,  we  shall  find  them, 
God's  light  falling  on  the  leaves." 

Try  to  live  near  the  Master  &  thus  may  we 
through  grace  hope  to  meet  our  loved  one  in 
peace  &  blessedness. 

Mrs.  McCauley,  during  thirty-five 
years  of  the  ministry  of  Dr.  McCauley, 
stood  by  the  side  of  her  husband.  She 
was  well  known  to  many  ministers  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  She  excelled  in  hos- 
pitality and  took  peculiar  pleasure  to 
bestow  kindness  upon  the  clergy  and  to 
welcome  them  to  her  home,  but  to  her 
husband  she  was  especially  a  benediction. 
In  seasons  of  severe  labor  she  cheered 
him  with  words  of  encouraging  approval. 
At  times  when  clouds  hung  over  his  soul 


52       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

she  reminded  him  of  the  sun  that  was 
sinking  behind  the  clouds.  When  agon- 
izing over  souls  or  the  faithlessness  of 
his  hearers,  she  helped  him  to  wrestle 
with  God  in  their  behalf,  and  when 
grieving  over  his  supposed  inefficiency, 
she  pointed  him  to  the  unfaltering  arm 
of  our  Father  in  Heaven. 

In  quietness,  in  uncomplaining  patience, 
she  bore  her  burdens.  Dr.  Bausman 
wrote  of  her: 

"In  works  of  charity  and  religion  her  heart 
and  hands  were  ever  eager  to  do  and  devise 
for  the  glory  of  God.  In  summer's  heat,  in 
winter's  storm,  she  walked  through  our  streets 
in  quest  of  the  poor  and  afflicted.  Often  she 
visited  the  hut  of  poverty  alone,  when  affliction 
made  walking  painful  to  her,  and  brought  com- 
fort to  God's  poor.  All  this  she  did  at  a  sacri- 
fice. I  know  whereof  I  affirm  when  I  say  that 
she  deprived  herself  of  not  a  few  comforts 
in  order  to  relieve  the  wretched.  Possibly, 
sometimes,  she  may  have  been  compassionate 
at    the    expense    of    discriminating    judgment. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  53 

'Oft   pity   gave   ere   charity   began.'     But   far 
better  fail  in  that  direction  than  not  give  at  all." 

How  eminently  appropriate  and  sug- 
gestive of  the  remarkably  helpful  relations 
and  work  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  McCauley,  is 
the  fact  that  Dr.  George  F.  and  Emily  K. 
Baer,  who  became  members  of  the  Second 
Church  during  the  period  of  the  pastorate 
of  Dr.  McCauley,  placed  a  large  and 
most  beautiful  memorial  window  back 
of  the  pulpit  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  McCauley. 

With  the  In 


iTH  THE  Inscription: 


"To  the  Glory  of  God  and  in  memory  of  Rev.  Charles 
Firey  McCauley,  D.D.,  the  beloved  and  honored  Pastor — 
From  1855  to  1892  by  George  F.  and  Emily  K.  Baer." 

A  brief  reference  to  Colonel  Charles 
A.  H.  McCauley,  the  eldest  son,  is  per- 
tinent. Colonel  McCauley  beautifully 
illustrated  the  close,  loving  relations  of 
the  members  of  Dr.  McCauley's  family. 
He  never  failed  to  write  daily  to  his 
father,  and  he  was  continually  planning 


54       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

pleasant  surprises  in  the  way  of  gifts,  etc., 
to  his  sisters.  Colonel  McCauley  served 
in  the  Quartermaster's  Department  of 
the  United  States  Army,  and  in  that 
capacity  lived  in  a  number  of  cities 
throughout  the  land,  as  well  as  in  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

In  every  place  he  identified  himself 
with  a  local  church,  either  of  his  own  or 
of  some  other  denomination,  and  became 
active  in  Christian  work.  He  retained 
his  membership  in  the  Second  Reformed 
Church,  Reading,  Pa.,  and  was  always 
a  liberal  contributor.  Indeed,  he  be- 
came known  throughout  the  Reformed 
Church  for  his  generous  gifts  to  churches, 
to  the  Boards  and  institutions  of 
the  Church.  And  like  his  sister,  Mrs. 
Schnebley,  he  made  liberal  bequests  in 
his  will.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Olive  Lay  Mc- 
Cauley, and  the  three  children  who  sur- 
vive Colonel  McCauley  are  continuing 
his  benefactions. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  55 

Colonel  McCauley  carried  on  an  exten- 
sive correspondence  with  friends  and 
others  whom  he  had  met  in  various 
places;  numerous  testimonies  have  come 
since  his  death,  of  the  wide  influence 
for  good  which  he  exerted  in  this  way. 

Colonel  McCauley  enjoyed  an  enviable 
army  record.  He  wa;s  an  author  and 
at  one  time  a  member  of  several  societies 
devoted  to  educational  research.  He 
issued  several  treatises  upon  various 
subjects,  volumes  of  which  now  occupy 
the  shelves  of  the  libraries  of  the  leading 
geographical  societies  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Ameri- 
can Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  a  member 
of  the  Nuttall  Ornithological  Club,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  and  the  National  Geo- 
graphical Society,  Washington,  D.  C, 
a  man  of  large  spirit,  broad  sympathies, 
intensely  patriotic,  and  a  noble  Christian 
gentleman. 


56        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Dr.  McCauley's  Larger  Work 

Dr.  McCauley  was  preeminently  a 
pastor  who  gave  his  chief  time  and  atten- 
tion to  the  work  of  his  congregation 
always  with  a  view  of  enlisting  his  con- 
gregation in  the  welfare  of  the  community 
and  the  work  of  the  Church  at  large. 
He  never  forgot  the  timely  aid  rendered 
to  the  Second  Church  by  the  people  of 
the  denomination  scattered  throughout 
the  country.  He  inculcated  a  spirit  of 
benevolence  and  established  the  ideal 
plan  of  having  all  public  offerings  go  to 
the  cause  of  benevolence.  Every  collec- 
tion lifted  in  church  services  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  treasurer  of  benevolence 
and  administered  for  the  missionary  and 
other  benevolent  objects  of  the  denomi- 
nation and  for  the  cause  of  charity. 
This  plan  was  followed  by  the  Second 
Church  many  years  before  the  subject 
of  systematic  benevolence  was  empha- 
sized in  the  churches.     Naturally,  there- 


Charles  F.  McCauley  57 

►.fore,  the  congregation  never  failed  to 
meet  its  financial  obligations  and  to  go 
beyond  the  sums  apportioned  by  the 
Classis  or  Synod. 

For  a  period  of  forty-four  years  of  the 
forty-nine  of  his  ministry,  Dr.  McCauley 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  of 
the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  He  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  his  de- 
nomination, was  President  of  the  Synod 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States,  October,  1873,  and  in  1872  received 
the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Franklin  and 
Marshall  College,  Lancaster,  Pa.  He 
was  among  the  first,  in  1878,  to  endorse 
and  encourage  the  new  movement  of  the 
church  in  behalf  of  Foreign  Missions  and 
he  never  relaxed  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
that  most  important  cause.  While  pass- 
ing through  the  many  years  of  the  dis- 
cussions in  the  Reformed  Church  pertain- 
ing to  the  question  of  doctrine  and  cultus, 


58       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

though  having  decided  convictions,  he 
never  became  a  heated  champion  of  either 
tendency.  He  was  a  man  of  peace,  a  man 
of  large  charity  and  tolerance  for  the 
views  of  others.  He  engaged  freely  in 
union  services,  and  especially  in  his  later 
life  advocated  cooperation  and  united 
efforts  with  other  churches.  He  used 
the  stated  forms  in  the  conduct  of  worship 
and  yet  varied  them  as  the  circumstances 
seemed  to  demand.  He  depended  upon 
the  careful  instruction  of  the  youth,  be- 
lieved in  educational  religion,  yet  he  was 
sympathetic  toward  various  forms  of 
evangelism. 

Characteristics 

In  person.  Dr.  McCauley  was  tall  and 
slim.  His  presence  was  impressive  and 
pleasing.  He  had  hazel  eyes,  which  often 
seemed  to  be  brown,  red  hair  in  youth, 
which  became  brown  as  he  grew  older, 
features  of  serious  import.  He  was  a 
beautiful  type  of  the  faithful  minister. 


Charles  F.  McCauley  59 

A  man  intensely  human,  with  a  loyal, 
loving  heart.  He  ministered  not  as  a 
lofty-minded  official  from  his  pedestal  of 
prelatical  isolation,  not  in  a  patronizing 
or  perfunctory  manner,  but  as  a  brother 
among  the  children  of  our  common 
Father.  Dr.  McCauley  sometimes  called 
himself  a  Scotch-Irish  Pennsylvania- 
Dutchman,  combining  in  himself  three 
nationalities. 

His  father  was  of  Scotch-Irish  extrac- 
tion and  his  mother  from  a  German 
ancestry.  This  combination  counts  for 
certain  traits  of  his  character.  He  pos- 
sessed the  robust  grit  of  the  Scotch,  the 
impulsive  vivacity,  willing-heartedness 
and  wit  of  the  Irish,  and  the  indefatigable 
industry  and  thoroughness  of  the  Ger- 
man. Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Bausman,  for 
years  his  intimate  friend  and  colleague, 
in  his  sermon  preached  at  the  funeral  of 
Dr.  McCauley,  gave  a  true  portraiture 
and  analysis  of  the  man  and  his  work. 
Among  other  things  he  said: 


60       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

"He  possessed  an  ardent  temperament;  his 
character  and  convictions  were  singularly  in- 
tense. He  was  intense  in  his  likes  and  dislikes; 
an  ardent  leader  of  the  good  and  an  intense 
hater  of  the  evil.  His  ministry  was  character- 
ized by  conscientiousness  and  consecration. 
By  nature  and  by  grace  our  brother  seemed 
to  have  received  a  blood  anointing.  In  what- 
ever he  undertook  he  was  in  blood  earnest. 
This  could  be  seen  in  the  privacy  of  his  home, 
in  his  intercourse  with  friends,  as  well  as  in 
his  pulpit  and  pastoral  ministrations.  He 
wrought  the  rich  appeal  of  the  Gospel  into  his 
sermons.  Nature  and  art  contributed  from 
their  treasures  to  his  ministry.  Even  his  mis- 
fortunes were  turned  to  fortunate  issues.  His 
diseases  and  bereavements  became  an  education, 
published  for  the  saving  of  souls.  His  active 
mind,  vivid  imagination,  wealth  of  illustration 
and  fervid  utterance  gave  him  peculiar  power 
as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  His  sermons 

usually  were  vigorous  and  impressive.  He  was 
remarkably  apt  as  an  illustrator  of  dark  and 
diflScult  questions.  With  discriminating  skill 
he  would  draw  illustrations  from  daily  life  as 
well  as  from  history  and  the  natural  sciences. 
By  means  of  parable  and  familiar  speech,  he 


Charles  F.  McCauley  61 

taught  even  the  unlettered  hearer  to  grasp 
profound  truths. 

"He  excelled  as  a  spiritual  counselor,  a 
comforter  of  souls  distressed  and  of  minds 
distressed.  Practically  he  could  put  himself 
into  their  place,  and  see  through  their  eyes. 
The  grief  of  his  people  he  often  took  upon  him- 
self, and  their  joy  made  his  life  more  sunny. 
He  knew  the  path  to  every  home,  and  found  the 
way  to  hundreds  of  hearts.  Into  homes  of 
culture  and  huts  of  want  he  was  welcomed  as 
a  Christian  gentleman,  no  less  than  as  a  Christ- 
ian pastor. 

"There  was  a  time  when  he  was  familiar 
with  every  court  and  alley  of  this  city.  In  the 
uninviting  homes  of  the  poor  he  sat  and  listened 
to  their  sad  story.  To  many  he  was  the  best, 
the  only  earthly  friend  they  had.  He  was  the 
father  of  the  fatherless,  the  friend  of  the  widows. 
Into  his  heart  of  hearts  many  laid  burdens 
confided  to  none  but  God  and  their  pastor. 
The  moans  of  their  sufferings  sighed  through 
his  prayers,  and  the  music  of  their  joy  rang 
through  his  devout  praise.  To  a  marked  degree 
his  sermons  were  mirrors,  in  whose  reflection 
the  unreported  home  and  heart  life  of  his  people 
was   brought   to    view.     The   children   on   the 


62        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

street  hailed  him  as  a  loving  father  and  plucked 
his  coat  to  share  the  good  man's  smile. 

"Thus,  year  by  year,  acquaintance  deepened 
into  friendship,  and  friendship  ripened  into 
aflFection,  The  pastor  became  endeared  as  a 
spiritual  father  around  whose  grave  hundreds 
drop  their  filial  tear  of  bereavement.  His  sensi- 
tive nervous  temperament  felt  the  slightest 
touch  of  kindness  and  of  wrong.  It  caused 
him  many  a  pleasure  and  many  a  pang.  Thereby 
the  life  of  his  people  pulsated  in  his  life.  Souls 
that  went  astray  gave  him  personal  pain.  Often 
he  groaned  and  wilted  under  the  reaction  of 
severe  conflicts  for  the  good  of  others.  For 
their  sakes  he  often  could  not  eat  by  day  nor 
sleep  by  night.  This  keen,  sympathetic  touch 
with  the  conduct  of  his  people  sometimes  gave 
him  a  gloomy,  pessimistic  view  of  life. 

"The  bereavements  of  his  later  years  left  a 
shadow  over  his  heart  which  was  lifted  only 
by  death.  First  his  beloved  wife,  then  a  daugh- 
ter and  a  son,  were  borne  to  their  burial.  It 
was  the  Lord's  doing  which  he  bore  with  Christ- 
ian resignation,  but  the  unhealed  hurt  he  bore 
with  him  to  the  end.  Thereafter,  his  heart 
was  divided  between  the  home  on  earth  and 
the  home  in  heaven.     How  often  he  stood  by 


Charles  F.  McCauley  63 

his  three  graves  in  the  cemetery,  in  deep  reverie, 
as  though  through  their  gateway  he  might 
possibly  get  a  glimpse  of  those  gone  before. 

"These  bereavements  brought  the  eternal 
world  very  near  to  him.  An  over-powering 
sense  of  the  preciousness  of  our  Saviour,  and 
of  the  soul's  perishing  need  of  Him;  of  the 
pressing  importance  of  helping  people  to  find 
and  accept  Him  at  once,  seemed  to  be  constantly 
on  his  mind.  He  would  not  rust  out  but  wear 
out,  was  his  saying.  To  my  mind,  one  of  the 
pathetic  things  in  this  brother's  ministerial  life 
was  his  intense  passion  for  preaching  Christ 
and  saving  souls,  after  being  physically  disabled. 
Then,  more  than  ever,  he  longed  to  tell  others 
what  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus,  what  a  father 
we  have  in  God. 

"Thanks  to  the  considerate  kindness  of  his 
people,  this  ardent  longing  of  his  waning  life 
was  at  least  partially  realized.  The  pastor 
emeritus  died  in  the  harness,  as  he  had  often 
wished  to  do." 

Dr.  John  S.  Stahr,  President  and  Pro- 
fessor in  Franklin  and  Marshall  College 
for  many  years,  was  intimately  associated 
with  Dr.  McCauley  and  the  two  were 
very  warm  and  dear  friends.     He  writes: 


64       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

"Dr.  McCauley  was  a  man  of  strong  con- 
victions and  a  highly  sensitive  organization  but 
with  modesty  and  self-restraint  he  held  himself 
in  check  so  that  he  never  lost  control  of  himself 
or  was  drawn  into  doing  an  imprudent  thing. 
He  would  not  only  refrain  from  saying  an  unkind 
word  to  his  members,  but  more  than  that,  he 
would  not  allow  others  to  say  an  unkind  word 
if  he  could  help  it.  He  had  keen  insight  into 
human  nature.  He  knew  when  to  speak  and 
when  to  keep  silent.  He  understood  when  and 
how  to  approach  those  who  needed  his  minis- 
trations and,  although  he  could  reprove  and 
rebuke  if  the  occasion  called  for  it,  yet  when  he 
did  so  it  was  'the  faithful  wound  of  a  friend.' 

"Perhaps  his  strongest  trait  was  his  warm- 
hearted sympathy,  the  glow  of  which  was  felt 
by  all  who  came  under  the  spell  of  his  person- 
ality. Dignified  in  appearance  and  manner,  he 
was  kind  and  gentle  in  his  bearing.  In  society 
generally,  a  real  gentleman  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word,  but  in  his  congregation  he  was  even 
more  than  this — he  was  the  warm-hearted, 
sympathetic  friend.  With  great  delicacy  and 
tact  he  never  tried  to  force  himself  into  the 
confidence  of  his  people  but  he  drew  their  con- 
fidence as  naturally  as  the  sun  draws  the  tender, 


Charles  F.  McCauley  65 

growing  plant  or  the  cup  of  the  open  flower,  and 
in  the  confidential  relations  thus  established  he 
could  help  those  in  distress.  He  could  counsel 
and  suggest.  He  could  open  the  way  for  the 
beneficent  work  of  the  Gospel  in  the  hearts  of 
those  to  whom  he  ministered. 

"In  the  church  at  large  his  influence  was 
always  widely  felt.  Modest  and  self-contained, 
he  shrank  from  putting  himself  forward  but 
he  was  not  afraid  to  speak  out  strongly  when 
the  occasion  required  it,  with  a  result  commen- 
surate with  the  strength  of  his  personality." 

Dr.  McCauley  may  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  great  out-standing  characters 
which  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States  has  thus  far  produced.  He  was  a 
man  among  men,  a  faithful  pastor  with 
breadth  of  view  and  devotion  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ.  His  personality 
made  him  a  force  in  his  congregation, 
in  the  community,  in  the  Church  at  large, 
and  his  gracious  influence  is  still  felt. 

He  was  a  man  who  was  faithful  in  the 
every-day  relations  of  life  and  his  mem- 
ory will  abide. 


66       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

"There  is  no  end  to  the  sky, 
And  the  stars  are  everywhere, 
And  time  is  eternity. 
And  the  here  is  over  there, 
And  the  common  deeds  of  the  common  day 
Are  ringing  bells  in  the  far  away." 


THE    MINISTER'S    PERSONALITY 
AND  MANNERS 

Thou  must  be  true  thyself. 

If  thou  the  truth  wouldst  teach. 

Thy  soul  must  overflow,  if  thou 
Another's  soul  wouldst  reach. 

It  needs  the  overflow  of  heart 
To  give  the  lips  full  speech. 

Think  truly,  and  thy  thoughts 
Shall  the  world's  famine  feed; 

Speak  truly,  and  each  word  of  thine 
Shall  be  a  fruitful  seed; 

Live  truly,  and  thy  life  shall  be 
A  great  and  noble  creed. 


"God  had  but  one  Son,  and  He  made  Him  a 
minister." — Thomas  Goodwin. 


THE    MINISTER'S    PERSONALITY 
AND  MANNERS 

Lecture  One 

We  need  ever  to  remember  the  funda- 
mental truth — that  the  work  of  the 
ministry  depends  primarily  upon  per- 
sonality. Dr.  Fairbairn,  in  his  Pastoral 
Theology,  has  put  it  forcefully: 

"As  the  Christianity  which  should  per- 
vade and  distinguish  the  membership  of 
the  Church  is  emphatically  a  life,  so  the 
Christian  ministry,  in  which  it  may  be 
said  to  culminate,  must  be  regarded  as: 
in  the  first  instance  a  life,  and  secondarily 
a  work.  It  has  to  do  primarily  with  a 
condition  of  being  and  a  course  of  be- 
havior, and  only  afterwards  with  the 
ministrations  of  service.  Not  only  must 
the  two  so  exist  together,  but  they  must 
stand  related  to  each  other  in  the  manner 
now  indicated;  the  life  from  the  first 
takes    precedence     of     the     work     and 

(69) 


70       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

throughout  must  hold  the  place  of  pre- 
eminent importance." 

The  demands  and  responsibilities  of 
the  ministry  challenge  us  to  develop  to 
the  utmost  the  capacities  and  the  best 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart.  No  other 
calling  has  within  itself  such  possibilities 
of  development  and  fosters  such  vital 
relationship  of  the  work  to  the  worker 
as  the  ministry.  That  Great  Heart  of 
the  past  generation,  Bishop  Brooks,  well 
said:  "The  Christian  ministry  is  the 
largest  field  for  the  growth  of  a  human 
soul  that  this  world  offers.  In  it  he 
who  is  faithful  must  go  on  learning  more 
and  more  forever.  It  is  a  continual 
climbing  which  opens  continually  wider 
prospects.  It  repeats  the  experience  of 
Christ's  disciples,  of  whom  our  Lord  was 
always  making  larger  men  and  then 
giving  them  the  larger  truth  of  which 
their  enlarged  natures  had  become  capa- 
ble." 


The  Minister's  Personality  71 

Now  it  is  the  expression  of  personality 
which  has  to  do  with  the  minister's 
manners.  We  are  to  vitahze,  enlarge, 
develop  our  personalities  by  the  influence, 
not  only  of  the  spirit  of  God  from  above, 
but  also  by  learning  from  others  and 
from  the  accumulated  experiences  and 
wisdom  of  human  society.  Let  us  not 
despise  or  misunderstand  the  meaning 
of  the  term  "Good  Manners."  After 
all,  they  simply  represent  the  real  Christ- 
ian life  and  charity  which  ministers, 
above  all  others,  should  possess.  Dr. 
Witherspoon  in  his  ''Letters  on  Educa- 
tion," while  strongly  urging  the  utility 
and  importance  of  polished  manners,  re- 
marks: "True  religion  is  not  only  con- 
sistent with,  but  necessary  to,  the  per- 
fection of  true  politeness,"  and  fortifies 
his  opinion  by  "a  noble  sentiment,"  as 
he  calls  it,  of  the  Prince  of  Conti ;  namely, 
"That  worldly  politeness  is  no  more  than 
an  imitation  or  imperfect  copy  of  Christ- 


72        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

ian  charity,  being  the  pretense  or  outward 
appearance  of  that  deference  to  the 
judgment,  and  attention  to  the  interests 
of  others,  which  a  true  Christian  has 
as  the  rule  of  his  hfe  and  the  disposition 
of  his  heart." 

Let  us  at  once  remove  the  misappre- 
hension which  seems  to  lodge  in  the 
minds  of  many.  They  have  heard  so 
much  of  the  hollow,  insincere  system  of 
artificial  manners,  the  false  pretensions 
of  politeness,  that  whenever  the  subject 
is  mentioned  they  take  for  granted  that 
the  subject  aimed  at  is  that  courtly 
polish  and  punctilious  adjustment  of 
smiles,  bows,  dress  and  minute  attentions, 
which  form  so  large  a  part  of  the  Chester- 
fieldian  Code  found  today  generally  in 
modern  society. 

This  is  not  the  thing  here  suggested. 
The  customs  of  polite  society,  however, 
include  many  precepts  and  suggestions 
which    are   worthy   of   the   attention   of 


The  Minister's  Personality  73 

even  ministers.  It  may  be  true,  as  some 
one  has  said  of  Lord  Chesterfield's  "Let- 
ters to  his  Son,"  that  they  include  "The 
morals  of  a  prostitute  and  the  manners 
of  a  dancing  master"  but  this  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  be  prejudiced  against 
a  subject  which  associates  with  it  the 
traditions  and  treatment  of  an  unworthy 
life,  and  yet  a  subject  which  is  so  impor- 
tant to  one's  usefulness.  Rather  we  are 
to  consider  those  qualities  of  heart  and 
mind,  those  graces  of  the  Christian  life, 
out  of  which  flow  those  manners  which 
become  the  Christian  gentleman.  It  is 
easy  to  look  with  a  sort  of  contempt  on  all 
rules  of  behavior,  to  affect  singularity  of 
manner,  and  to  assume  that  ministers 
are  above  the  ordinary  laws  of  social 
intercourse.  Good  men  sometimes  put 
themselves  in  absurd  positions  when  they 
defy  public  sentiment  and  undervalue 
every  code  of  rules  whose  object  is  to 
make  men  act  like  civilized  people.     This 


74       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

prejudice  and  affectation,  as  well  as  the 
neglect  of  the  amenities  of  life,  are  often- 
times due  to  the  obscuring  of  the  fact 
that  the  growth  of  Christian  life  and 
principle  in  the  individual  heart  is  a 
gradual  process  and  not  a  superhuman  or 
spontaneous  matter. 

The  development  of  personality 
through  right  living  and  the  exercise 
of  the  largest  influence  for  good  requires 
unceasing  effort.  It  calls  for  self-denial, 
prayer  and  watchfulness.  It  includes 
numerous  duties  which  cannot  be  fulfilled 
in  all  their  relations  and  aspects  without 
being  made  the  object  of  intelligent  and 
daily  attention.  The  oflBce  of  the  min- 
istry does  not  remove  from  a  man  pride, 
vanity,  selfishness,  envy,  irritability,  the 
habit  of  slovenly  dress,  and  indolence. 

Another  fact  to  be  kept  in  mind  is, 
that  the  influence  of  our  personality 
cannot  be  properly  brought  to  bear  upon 
others  unless  we  have  some  knowledge 


The  Minister's  Personality  75 

of  the  world.  We  must  take  account 
of  the  laws  of  social  intercourse.  We 
must  see  and  study  man  as  he  is.  The 
book  of  human  nature  must  be  studied 
as  well  as  the  Book  of  revelation. 

We  must  study  men.  We  should  know 
their  differences  and  varieties  of  tem- 
perament and  point  of  view.  We  need 
to  discern  the  different  motives  and  the 
many  types  of  character  with  which  we 
have  to  deal:  the  slow-witted  man, 
following  others  like  a  sheep;  the  man 
with  open  mind,  quick  to  catch  visions 
and  to  exercise  good  judgment;  the  genial 
man,  the  bilious,  the  sanguine  man,  the 
old  man  and  the  young,  the  man  bearing 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  the 
obstinate  man,  the  conservative  and  the 
radical. 

These  varied  types  will  probably  be 
found  within  the  circle  of  every  congre- 
gation. We  will  need  their  cooperation. 
How  important  then  the  study  and  the 


76        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

acquisition  of  those  traits  of  character 
which  will  qualify  for  leadership  and 
make  us  "wise  as  serpents  and  harmless 
as  doves." 

This  study  is  important  because  the 
world  judges  the  character  of  a  man  by 
his  manners.  Simple,  manly  manners 
are  the  indication  of  a  manly  and  straight- 
forward character.  Tennyson  was  right 
when  he  wrote: 

"For  manners  are  not  idle  but  the 
fruit  of  loyal  nature  and  of  noble  mind." 
And  Emerson  well  said: 

"I  have  seen  manners  that  make  a 
similar   impression  to  personal  beauty." 

The  average  man  looks  quite  as  much, 
if  not  more,  to  manners  as  to  solid  worth. 
He  may  be  a  poor  judge  qf  talents, 
learning  and  even  religious  profession, 
but  of  easy,  mild  and  genial  manners 
every  one  is  a  competent  judge  and,  of 
course,  is  capable  of  being  favorably 
impressed  by  them. 


The  Minister's  Personality  77 

It  is  difficult  for  merit  to  secure  a 
hearing  and  to  enter  the  open  door  of 
usefulness  if  clothed  with  the  skin  of  a 
porcupine.  Men  of  ordinary  attainments 
and  of  limited  information  but  of  fas- 
cinating and  agreeable  manners  often 
succeed,  where  men  of  far  higher  quali- 
fications, both  intellectual  and  moral, 
but  without  attractiveness  of  bearing, 
frequently  fail.  Is  it  not  also  true  that 
that  which  is  of  intrinsic  worth  appears 
doubly  attractive  when  presented  in  a 
pleasing  manner?  We  all  recognize  that 
the  very  same  words  uttered  by  one 
person  may  prove  offensive  and  yet  when 
spoken  by  another  may  be  agreeable  and 
acceptable.  An  action  performed  with 
an  assumption  of  spiritual  superiority 
may  bring  forth  denunciations  on  the 
part  of  good  people  and  curses  by  the 
worldly,  while  the  very  same  action,  when 
performed  by  another  of  even  less  talent, 
but  with  greater  suavity  and  more  tact. 


78        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

is  approved  and  exercises  large  injfluence. 
Edmund  Burke  puts  it  strongly,  "Man- 
ners are  of  more  importance  than  laws. 
Upon  them,  in  a  great  measure,  the  laws 
depend.  The  law  touches  us  but  here 
and  there,  and  now  and  then.  Manners 
are  what  vex  or  soothe,  corrupt  or  purify, 
exalt  or  debase,  barbarize  or  refine  us, 
by  a  constant,  steady,  uniform,  insensible 
operation,  like  that  of  the  air  we  breathe 
in.  They  give  their  whole  form  and 
color  to  our  lives.  According  to  their 
quality,  they  aid  morals;  they  supply 
them  or  they  totally  destroy  them." 

We  all  recognize  the  value  of  "personal 
magnetism."  But,  after  all,  what  is  per- 
sonal magnetism  but  only  another  name 
for  readiness  and  considerateness  and  the 
application  of  the  Golden  Rule  and  the 
law  of  love  in  our  dealings  with  others.^ 
Personal  magnetism  is  the  product  of 
the  cultivation  of  these  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart  and  of  their  translation  into 


The  Minister's  Personality  79 

words  and  actions.  Some  one  has  pointed 
out  that  the  very  word  "Parson"  means 
"persona,"  a  person  who  represents  the 
church,  in  whom  its  ideal  is  embodied 
or  its  character  illustrated. 

Recognizing  the  importance  of  the 
minister's  personality  and  manners,  the 
practical  question  is:  "What  can  we  do 
to  attain  these  high  ideals  and  exercise 
the  proper  influence  as  ministers  of  the 
gospel  among  men?" 

First,  by  giving  attention  to  the  culti- 
vation of  those  elements  of  character 
which  make  for  spiritual  growth  and  real 
manhood.  Second,  by  culture  of  the 
soul  for  service.  Third,  by  communion 
with  God. 

May  I  remind  you  that  the  pastoral 
epistles  lay  stress  upon  the  minister's 
life.'^  In  the  letters  to  Timothy  and 
Titus,  nearly  all  the  directions  given  as  to 
qualifications  that  should  be  sought  have 
respect  to  character.     Indeed,  out  of  the 


80       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

thirteen  or  fourteen  different  qualities 
mentioned,  only  one  has  distinct  refer- 
ence to  the  gift  of  teaching,  virtually 
implying  that  character  is  the  most 
essential  thing. 

For  the  sake  of  definiteness  and  brevity 
may  I  suggest  to  you  the  A. B.C.  elements 
which  make  for  the  proper  growth  of  the 
minister,  in  clerical  manners  .^^  A — Adap- 
tation, B — Brotherliness,  C — Courtesy, 
D — Dignity,  E — Enthusiasm,  F — Fear- 
lessness, G — Gentleness. 

A — Adaptation 

The  modern  science  and  art  of  teach- 
ing make  much  of  the  principle  of  adap- 
tation. The  courses  of  study  in  the 
Sunday  School  are  planned  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  child's  spiritual  needs 
or  the  adaptation  of  scriptural  material 
to  the  growing  intelligence  of  the  child. 

The  principle  of  Adaptation  empha- 
sizes the  necessity  of  proceeding  from  the 


The  Minister's  Personality  81 

known  to  the  unknown,  of  meeting  the 
pupil  on  his  own  plane  of  understanding. 
Is  not  this  very  thing  needed  on  the  part 
of  the  Christian  minister  in  his  dealings 
with  men  and  women?  Does  not  the 
great  apostle  suggest  that  the  thoughtless 
and  inconsiderate  hfe  of  the  minister  is 
a  grievous  stumbling  block  and  does  he 
not  lay  down  the  rule:  "All  things  are 
lawful  for  me  but  all  things  are  not  ex- 
pedient"; "All  things  are  lawful  for  me 
but  all  things  edify  not."  A  large  part 
of  Paul's  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians 
deals  with  this  question  of  adaptation 
and  the  principle  thus  laid  down  is  of 
very  wide  application.  It  bears  upon 
the  intercourse  of  the  minister  with  the 
world,  on  his  tactful  dealings  with  men, 
on  the  question  of  recreation  and  amuse- 
ments and  on  the  far  larger  question  of 
meeting  men  on  their  own  ground,  look- 
ing at  questions  from  the  other  man's 
point  of  view.     Here  it  is  well  to  follow 


82       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

the  maxim:  "Brethren,  be  not  children 
in  understanding,  howbeit,  in  maHce  be 
ye  children,  but  in  understanding,  be 
men." 

B — Brotherliness 

By  this  I  mean  human  sympathy,  sin- 
cerity, unselfishness  which  will  lead  a 
man  to  deny  himself  the  pleasure  of  the 
study  or  of  interesting  literature  for  the 
sake  of  humble  service  to  individuals. 
It  is  easy  nowadays  to  make  a  fetish  of 
the  word  "Brotherhood";  to  set  up  an 
idolatry  of  books,  of  ideas  and  theories  of 
social  service,  and  yet  forget  and  deny 
the  ties  of  humanity.  It  will  not  do  to 
have  simply  a  vague  enthusiasm  for 
humanity.  We  must  have  a  growing 
interest  in  the  individual  man.  The 
minister  must  further  guard  against  the 
vice  of  professionalism,  of  examining  and 
criticizing  conditions  in  the  cold  dry  light 
of  intellectualism  or  of  a  morbid  senti- 


The  Minister's  Personality  83 

mentalism.  Brotherliness  can  only  de- 
velop through  genuine  interest  in  others. 
The  best  guarantee  of  its  growth  is 
human-heartedness.  "I  used  to  think," 
writes  Hawthorne,  "I  could  imagine  all 
passions  and  all  feelings  and  states  of  the 
heart  and  mind  but  how  little  did  I  know. 
Indeed,  we  are  but  shadows.  We  are 
not  endowed  with  real  life,  and  all  that 
seems  most  real  is  but  the  thinnest  sub- 
stance of  a  dream  'til  the  heart  be 
touched.  That  touch  creates  us.  Then 
we  begin  to  be.  Thereby  we  are  beings 
of  reality  and  inheritors  of  eternity." 

When  there  was  a  smallpox  epidemic 
in  Reading,  Pa.,  years  ago,  Dr.  McCauley 
showed  the  genuine  brotherliness  of  a 
minister  of  religion  when,  at  the  risk 
of  his  life  and  of  his  family,  he  ministered 
to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  scores 
of  whom  were  not  even  connected  with 
his  congregation,  who  were  taken  down 
with  the  dread  disease. 


84        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Little  wonder  that  after  several  genera- 
tions have  passed  by  his  name  is  still  a 
household  name  in  hundreds  of  homes 
and  held  in  reverence  by  the  city  of 
Reading. 

Another  pastoral  side  in  his  life  re- 
veals the  meaning  of  brotherliness.  In 
a  home  of  luxury,  for  several  years  a 
child  was  bedfast.  Week  in  and  week 
out  the  pastor  visited  in  that  home  and 
prayed  with  the  child  and  the  parents, 
likewise  in  the  poorer  sections  of  the  city 
was  he  found  in  loving  personal  touch 
and  sympathy  with  a  family  where  sick- 
ness and  poverty  prevailed  for  more  than 
a  year.  These  are  typical  instances  of 
his  faithful  pastoral  labors.  As  the  late 
Dr.  Charles  S.  Home  of  London  points 
out,  the  need  of  the  day  is  not  Elijah, 
the  uncompromising  individualist,  re- 
mote, inaccessible,  ascetic,  but  Elisha, 
the  homely,  friendly  man  whose  place 
was  in  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  people. 


The  Minister's  Personality  85 

This  is  the  new  order  of  the  ministry! 
The  human,  social,  sympathetic  minister 
who  knows  how  people  live,  who  enters 
into  their  joys  and  shares  their  occupa- 
tions; who  instinctively  discerns  their 
privations  and  will  not  see  them  de- 
frauded of  their  rights. 

C — Courtesy 

If  courtesy  is  politeness  springing  from 
kindly  feeling,  it  should  be  so  cultivated 
as  to  become  an  habitual  attitude  of  the 
minister. 

Courtesy  is  the  ozone  of  ministerial  life. 
It  is  that  air  and  manner  which  is  more 
expressive  than  words.  It  is  the  practice 
of  civility,  of  putting  one's  self  in  place 
of  the  other  man  and  so  interpreting  and 
ministering  to  life.  An  eminent  business 
man,  the  son  of  a  former  Professor  in  this 
Seminary,  whose  training  has  been  in  the 
greatest  mercantile  establishment  in  this 
country,  has  said:   "I  have  learned  that 


86        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

courtesy  is  the  first  law  of  trade  and  that 
it  imphes  and  includes  politeness,  atten- 
tion, solicitude,  sympathy,  kindness,  pa- 
tience, cheerfulness,  earnestness,  loyalty, 
faith."  If  this  be  true  in  the  world  of 
business,  how  much  more  is  it  true  in 
the  work  of  the  ministry. 

Above  all  men,  the  minister  must  be  so 
courteous  and  affable  that  he  is  easily 
approachable;  possessing  that  happy  fac- 
ulty of  placing  every  one  at  ease  with  him 
in  conversation.  The  minister  must  visit 
from  house  to  house,  he  must  meet  all 
classes  of  persons  on  the  most  important 
of  all  subjects.  To  him  come  the  per- 
plexed, the  doubting,  the  timid,  the 
tempted,  the  ignorant  and  desponding. 
As  counselor  and  guide,  as  friend  and 
companion,  as  the  steward  of  the  myster- 
ies of  grace,  as  an  under  shepherd,  as  a 
watchman  upon  the  walls  of  Zion,  giving 
the  message  of  warning  as  well  as  of  cheer, 
the  minister  soon  discovers  that  in  all 


The  Minister's  Personality  87 

these  relations  gracious  and  genuine 
courtesy  wins.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
great  crises  of  Hfe,  as  the  daily  experi- 
ences, which  go  to  make  up  the  sum  of 
the  minister's  usefulness.  The  poet  has 
well  said: 

"Hail!  Ye  small,  sweet  courtesies  of  life, 
For  smooth  do  ye  make  the  road  of  it." 
Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  assuming 
that  the  courteous,  tactful  man,  like  the 
poet,  must  be  born  and  cannot  be  made. 
Doubtless,  temperament  has  something 
to  do  with  the  development  of  courtesy, 
but  it  is  not  true  that  it  is  always  innate 
and  never  an  accomplishment.  The 

grace  of  God  includes  the  possibility  of 
the  gift  and  large  use  of  tactful  courtesy. 
It  is  a  question  of  requisite  care  and  cul- 
ture. We  can  well  agree  with  Dr.  J.  H. 
Jowett,  who  says:  "I  believe  that  clumsy 
people  can  become  tactful  and  that  folk 
who  are  brusque  and  morbid  can  become 
gracious  and  courteous  and  that  the  in- 


88       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

different  and  inconsiderate  can  become 
thoughtful  and  sympathetic.  There  is 
no  excuse  for  our  tactlessness  and  if 
even,  temperamentally,  we  are  tactless, 
it  is  our  urgent  duty  to  change  it  by  the 
ministries  of  discipline  and  grace." 

D — Dignity 

We  often  speak  of  some  one  as  a  "gen- 
tleman of  the  old  school."  Does  this  not 
express  the  happy  combination  of  cour- 
tesy and  dignity  so  eminently  becoming 
to  the  minister?  There  are  men  who 
think  the  secret  of  social  success  is  found 
in  being  a  "good  fellow";  who  are  always 
joking,  telling  funny  stories,  turning 
everything  to  wit.  Of  course,  humor  has 
its  place.  Without  it,  the  seriousness  of 
life  which  constantly  confronts  the  min- 
ister would  be  a  burden  sometimes  too 
great  to  be  borne,  but  ministerial  wit 
comes  dangerously  near  to  moral  weak- 
ness.    Let  there  be  plenty  of  laughter 


The  Minister's  Personality  89 

and  a  genuine,  childlike  enjoyment  of 
the  proper  things  of  life,  but  never  a  loss 
of  reverence,  never  a  ridicule  of  the 
scriptures  by  unseemly  jokes;  never  the 
telling  of  stories  with  a  double  meaning. 
Here  again.  Dr.  McCauley,  with  his 
Scotch-Irish  wit,  at  times  indulged  in 
pleasantries  which  lightened  and  lifted, 
but  there  was  always  a  dignity  of  manner 
which  never  for  a  moment  caused  one  to 
lose  respect  for  the  man,  there  was  in 
him  a  happy  commingling  of  gracious 
courtesy  and  noble  dignity. 

True  dignity  means  habitual  self-con- 
trol. It  excludes  uncontrolled  outbreaks 
of  temper.  Perhaps  ministers  may  be 
said  to  be  peculiarly  exposed  to  the 
temptation  of  losing  their  tempers  in 
controversy.  They  feel  deeply  when 
their  opinions  are  questioned  or  attacked. 
So  much  the  more  is  there  need  for  a 
double  guard.  No  one  loses  more  in 
the  esteem  of  others  and  in  his  influence 


90       The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

for  good  than  a  minister  when  he  lowers 
the  dignity  of  his  office  by  loss  of  self- 
control  and  self  respect. 

E — Enthusiasm 

Let  us  remember  that  the  word  ety- 
mologically  means  "Having  God  within." 
Maurice  speaks  of  the  Christian  enthu- 
siast as  the  "God  intoxicated  man." 
One's  experience  with  God  is  the  meas- 
ure of  one's  power  with  men.  You  re- 
member that  two  of  the  three  Hebrew 
words  which  are  translated  "prophet" 
mean  "To  see."  The  man  who  has 
spiritual  insight  and  a  vision  of  the  thing 
to  be  done  will  have  a  sustained  enthu- 
siasm which  makes  it  possible,  amidst 
trials  and  difficulties,  to  persevere  and  to 
accomplish  something  worth  while. 

I  suppose  that  at  the  time  of  ordina- 
tion the  sense  of  conviction  of  a  divine 
call  and  the  greatness  of  the  task  before 
the  minister  arouses  enthusiasm.     Now 


The  Minister's  Personality  91 

it  is  this  enthusiasm  which  must  be  main- 
tained and  kept  fresh  through  the  long 
years  of  ministerial  work.  We  have  a 
noble  example  in  St.  Paul,  who  main- 
tained the  enthusiasm  he  had  at  his  call, 
as  is  evidenced  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  from  the  contents  of  every  letter 
that  he  wrote.  Reading  his  life  and 
words  one  is  impressed,  not  only  with 
his  sense  of  responsibility  which  con- 
tinues always  to  be  fresh  and  keen,  but 
also  with  his  abiding  possession  of  divine 
help  and  strength  to  meet  new  and  con- 
stantly changing  circumstances.  Paul 
brought  his  enthusiasm  to  bear  upon 
every  detail  of  ministerial  work,  whether 
it  involved  doing  something  for  Onesimus, 
as  in  his  letter  to  Philemon,  or  writing  to 
the  church  at  Rome;  whether  visiting 
from  house  to  house  or  counseling  the 
elders  at  Ephesus  he  acted  as  if  he  felt 
he  was  obeying  a  divine  call. 


92        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Here  is  one  secret  of  enthusiasm,  viz. : 
recognizing  the  greatness  of  the  task  and 
the  importance  of  its  details,  together 
with  throwing  all  our  energy  into  it. 
Another  secret  is — the  conviction  and 
assured  confidence  of  divine  guidance 
and  strength  in  persevering  effort.  From 
this  point  of  view  faith  cannot  be  sep- 
arated from  ENTHUSIASM.  Indeed,  en- 
thusiasm is  faith  in  action.  It  is  letting 
God  work  in  us  and  working  as  if  every- 
thing depended  upon  us.  Paul  expressed 
it  writing  to  the  Philippians,  when  he 
said:  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Him 
who  constantly  strengthens  me."  And 
to  Timothy,  referring  to  his  first  defense 
and  the  fact  that  he  was  forsaken,  he 
said:  "The  Lord  stood  by  me  and 
strengthened  me." 

Years  ago  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
hear  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks  speak  in  Bos- 
ton. His  sincerity  and  enthusiasm  car- 
ried conviction  to  each  one  in  his  audi- 


The  Minister's  Personality  93 

ence.  He  had  a  good  thing.  He  beheved 
in  it  with  his  whole  heart.  His  enthusi- 
asm was  contagious  and  he  made  one 
feel  that  he  had  tested  what  he  was  talk- 
ing about  and  that  one  wanted  what  he 
had.  His  intense  and  sustained  enthu- 
siasm made  him  the  great  preacher  and 
teacher.  In  personal  conversation  and 
bearing,  enthusiasm  alone  will  carry 
conviction  and  persuade  to  action. 

The  minister  has  a  task  that  challenges 
all  his  powers  and  if  a  vision  of  the  work 
grips  him,  he  cannot  fail  to  be  enthusiastic 
and  bring  every  faculty  of  his  being  into 
action.  We  need  constantly  to  recognize 
the  truth  that  God  works  in  and  through 
our  human  personalities  and  that,  with 
Him,  we  can  conquer,  and  yet  that  the 
growth  of  His  kingdom  is  conditioned  by 
our  activity. 

"Move  to  the  fore. 
God  himself  waits,  and  must  wait,  till   thou 
come. 


94        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Men  are  God's  prophets  though  ages  lie  dumb. 
Halts  the  Christ-Kingdom,  with  conquest  so 

near? 
Thou  art  the  cause,  then,  thou  man  at   the 

rear. 
Move  to  the  fore." 

F — Fearlessness 

The  quality  of  courage  is  indispensable 
to  the  minister.  We  need  not  despair 
if  we  are  naturally  of  a  timid  disposition. 
If  we  let  the  grace  of  God  take  hold 
of  our  souls  we  can  become  fearless.  Dr. 
Charles  Sylvester  Home  in  "The  Ro- 
mance of  Preaching"  gives  us  a  portrait 
of  John  Knox.  He  united  in  himself 
the  statesmanship  of  Calvin  and  the  fiery 
eloquence  of  Savonarola.  Dr.  Home 
says  that  Knox  insisted  that  he  was  a 
coward.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  was 
drawn  into  his  eventful  work  against  his 
own  will  and  inclination.  Could  there 
have  been  a  more  heroic  soul  in  holding 
out   for    God's    cause    against   a    crafty 


The  Minister's  Personality  95 

hierarchy,  a  turbulent  nobihty  and  an 
insidious  theology?  The  destiny  of  Scot- 
land was  in  the  scales  and,  under  God, 
its  freedom  depended  upon  the  fact  that 
John  Knox  was  no  sentimental  and 
effeminate  champion  of  the  new  doctrine. 
We  are  all  familiar  with  the  clever  and 
insistent  efforts  of  Queen  Mary;  her 
flattery,  her  shrinking,  her  laughter,  her 
tears.  But  she  could  not  move  the  fear- 
less Knox.  History  has  it  on  record  that, 
as  John  Knox  passed  out  from  the  royal 
presence,  the  whisper  went  around:  "He 
is  not  afraid."  Whereupon  he  replied, 
with  a  reasonably  merry  countenance: 
"Wherefore  should  the  pleasing  face  of 
a  gentlewoman  affray  me.^^  I  have  looked 
upon  the  faces  of  many  angry  men  and 
yet  have  not  been  affrayed  beyond  meas- 
ure." It  was  like  Knox  to  pray:  "O 
God,  give  me  death  or  give  me  Scotland." 
And  what  an  appropriate  sentiment  for 
his  grave — "Here  lies  one  who  never 
feared  the  face  of  man." 


96        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

You  can  be  sure  that  you  will  be 
tempted  to  be  cowardly,  to  yield  an  easy 
acquiescence  to  the  dominating  will  of 
some  financial  magnate  of  the  congrega- 
tion or  to  the  persuasive  wiles  of  some 
prosperous,  luxurious  and  ease-loving 
family.  Fidelity  to  your  trust  requires 
fearlessness  to  proclaim  the  message,  to 
stand  by  Christian  principles  and  to 
yield  neither  to  stern  looks  nor  to  soft 
speeches. 

I  well  recall  the  fearlessness  of  Dr. 
McCauley  in  the  Prohibition  Campaign 
in  Pennsylvania,  1889,  when  it  required 
courage  to  take  a  stand  in  the  congrega- 
tion where  the  majority  of  the  men  were, 
by  their  environment  and  by  their  habits 
of  life,  opposed  to  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance. Dr.  McCauley  stood  for  the  prin- 
ciple of  total  abstinence  for  the  individual 
and  Prohibition  for  the  State  and  de- 
clared his  convictions  both  in  public  and 
in  private;  and  long  before  that,  in  the 


The  Minister's  Personality  97 

year  1846  in  his  pastorate  in  Middletown, 
Maryland,  he  spoke  courageously  in 
behalf  of  the  Temperance  cause. 

To  be  a  leader  requires  the  courage  of 
one's  convictions.  You  must  lead  in 
thought  and  in  your  attitude  to  great 
reform;  you  must  be  in  advance  of  the 
crowd,  and  be  aggressive  in  pulling  down 
strongholds  of  evil.  The  Bible  is  full 
of  appeals  and  demands  for  this  fearless 
life.  "Be  not  fearful,  but  believing." 
"Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee;  be  not 
dismayed  for  I  am  thy  God." 

To  do  this  you  must  set  a  steadfast 
face  against  sin  and  fear  nothing  but 
God.  You  must  apply  the  antiseptic 
treatment  by  keeping  your  spiritual  life 
in  good  condition.  Falling  below  par 
in  spiritual  things  will  make  you  sus- 
ceptible especially  to  the  bacteria  of  fear 
and  evil.  The  old  phrase  runs:  "The 
Christian's  doubt  is  the  Devil's  oppor- 
tunity." 


98        The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

G — Gentleness 

Closely  allied  to  Fearlessness  is  the 
spirit  of  Gentleness.  The  divine  word  is : 
"Thy  gentleness  hath  made  me  great," 
and  the  Apostolic  injunction  reads :  "The 
Lord's  servant  must  not  strive,  but  be 
gentle  towards  all,  apt  to  teach,  forbear- 
ing, in  meekness  correcting  them  that 
oppose  themselves." 

This  Christian  grace  is  in  contrast  to 
the  contentious  insistence  on  one's  rights, 
for  the  natural  man  is  always  ready  to 
assert  his  rights,  rather  than  to  obey 
the  law  of  love.  The  minister  is  an 
official  but  his  office  is  that  of  servant 
and  brother,  rather  than  an  officer  clothed 
with  human  rights. 

What  is  the  story  of  the  medieval 
Church  but  a  narrative  of  the  tyranny  of 
clergymen  who,  for  hundreds  of  years, 
little  by  little,  compacted  themselves  into 
a  hierarchy,  developing  into  the  most 
appalling,  intolerable  despotism  that  the 


The  Minister's  Personality  99 

world  has  ever  known.  Laymen  were 
crowded  out  of  the  place  appointed  them 
by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church.  They 
were  allowed  no  voice  whatever  in  the 
government  of  the  Church.  These  min- 
isters were  men  of  like  passions  with  our- 
selves. In  their  hearts  was  many  a  noble 
aspiration  and  in  their  lives  they  did 
many  noble  deeds,  but  ambition,  pride 
of  place,  lust  of  power,  darkened  the  light 
of  their  ministry  and  made  it  easy  for 
them  to  formulate  plausible  policies  and 
present  specious  reasons  as  a  vindication 
of  their  acts. 

We  suffer  today  from  the  despotism  of 
the  past  and  Protestantism  is  not  exempt 
from  the  pride  of  office.  Dr.  Charles  E. 
Jefferson  well  says:  "If  one  were  to  go 
up  and  down  our  Protestant  world,  not- 
ing carefully  the  sins  of  clergymen,  would 
he  not  write  in  his  list  such  as  these: 
autocratic  manner,  imperious  temper, 
consequential  air,  dictatorial  disposition. 


100      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

self-assertion,  hankering  for  distinction, 
ambition  for  higher  place,  arrogant  pre- 
sumption, refined  but  earthly  worldliness? 
Every  man  has  in  him  the  elements  out 
of  which  Rome  built  a  despotism  which 
enslaved  the  world." 

Peter,  in  writing  to  the  pastors  in  his 
day,  said:  "Tend  the  flock  of  God,  not 
as  lording  it  over  the  charge  allotted  to 
you,  but  making  yourselves  examples  to 
the  flock."  In  other  words,  our  power 
is  given  us  to  use  in  the  path  of  service 
and  in  the  spirit  of  humility.  It  was  this 
truth  which  our  Lord  constantly  empha- 
sized in  his  teachings  and  in  his  relations 
with  the  twelve.  But  we  need  ever  to 
remember  the  dangerous  ground  upon 
which  we  stand  when  we  find  that  it  is 
possible  to  have  the  mind  filled  with 
thoughts  of  self-abnegation  and  unselfish- 
ness, and  at  the  same  time,  as  a  result  of 
sin,  be  dreaming  of  pre-eminence  and 
power. 


The  Minister's  Personality  101 

Many  a  time  you  will  be  tempted,  when 
attacked,  to  defend  yourself;  when  mis- 
represented, to  explain.  Better  not  apol- 
ogize nor  explain  but  let  your  life  speak 
for  itself.  For  the  sake  of  the  growth 
of  your  denomination  or  the  kingdom 
you  may  be  put  in  a  position  where  you 
should  help  to  start  other  churches  and 
allow  credit  to  be  given  even  to  others. 
There  is  no  grace  which  you  will  need  to 
exercise  more  than  that  of  humility  and 
the  royal  rule  of  seeing  or  doing  nothing 
which  would  make  any  one  uncomfortable. 

Dr.  McCauley  began  his  pastorate  in 
Reading,  when  there  was  decided  and 
out-spoken  opposition  to  an  English  con- 
gregation and  when  the  mother  church 
repudiated  her  promises  of  financial  sup- 
port, but  he  led  his  people  on  peacefully 
and  there  was  never  a  quarrel  between 
the  two  congregations. 

He  aided  in  securing  as  pastor  of  the 
First  Church  Dr.  Bausman,  and  for  more 


102      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

than  thirty  years  these  two  brethren, 
differing  greatly  in  temperament,  lab- 
bored  together  as  brothers  and  most 
intimate  friends.  In  a  very  real  sense. 
Dr.  McCauley  was  the  father  of  Reformed 
Church  extension  in  Reading,  which  led 
to  the  establishment  of  thirteen  con- 
gregations before  his  death.  And  yet 
he  cheerfully  accredited  the  place  of 
leadership  to  another.  By  his  coopera- 
tion, his  self-denial  and  self-effacement, 
in  sending  out  hundreds  of  his  members 
to  new  congregations,  he  manifested  the 
true  spirit  of  the  Christian  minister,  and 
in  it  all  his  gentleness  made  him  great. 

Summing  up  all  these  elements  of 
character :  Adaptation,  Brotherliness, 
Courtesy,  Dignity,  Enthusiasm,  Fear- 
lessness, Gentleness,  we  find  that  they 
fuse  together  into  one  great  motive  power 
of  the  ministry. 

Do  we  not  see  this  in  the  teaching  of 
St.  Paul's  First  Letter  to  the  Corinthians.'' 


The  Minister's  Personality  103 

Chapters  12,  13,  14  have  one  subject — 
viz. :  The  endowment  of  the  Church  and 
its  purposes.  Indeed,  in  the  twelfth 
Chapter,  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  as- 
serted, coupled  with  the  prevailing 
thought  of  the  diversity  of  gifts  and 
endowments,  services  and  activities.  The 
fourteenth  Chapter  refers  to  speaking 
with  tongues  and  the  understanding, 
prophecy,  praying  with  the  spirit,  etc., 
but  while  Paul  magnifies  the  gift  of  God 
and  our  responsibility  for  the  right  use  of 
diversified  gifts  and  talents,  he  gives  the 
heart  of  his  message  in  the  thirteenth 
Chapter  when  he  says:  "I  proceed  to 
show  you  a  way,  by  all  comparison  the 
best" — and  that  way  means  a  determin- 
ing and  impelling  and  controlling  prin- 
ciple and  motive. 

The  wonderful  thirteenth  Chapter  is 
an  inspired  definition  of  love.  Surely  if 
ministers  of  the  gospel  were  to  read  and 
give  themselves  to  meditation  daily  on 


104      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 


this  pathway  of  supreme  excellence  and 
power,  their  lives  would  be  transformed 
and  the  work  of  the  Church  would  be 
immeasurably  advanced. 

The  second  method  enriching  person- 
ality is  suggested  by  the  general  term 
"culture."  I  recognize  that  the  elements 
of  character  which  we  have  been  discussing 
have  reference  to  the  culture  of  the  soul 
and  are  included  in  the  general  idea  of 
culture,  but  I  desire  to  call  your  attention 
to  an  aspect  of  culture  not  included  in 
that  which  we  have  already  considered. 
It  goes  without  saying,  that  there  are 
great  intellectual  demands  made  upon 
the  minister  and  that,  for  the  purpose 
of  an  efficient  ministry,  "as  iron  sharp- 
eneth  iron,"  so  great  books  must  be  read 
to  quicken  the  mind  and  put  iron  into 
the  mental  constitution.  Idea  and  illus- 
trations must  be  acquired  by  a  wide  range 
of  reading. 


The  Minister's  Personality  105 

No  man  can  remain  long  in  the  pas- 
torate, particularly  in  any  one  field, 
without  giving  attendance  to  reading 
and  without  being  a  student  in  the  real 
sense  of  the  term. 

Dr.  McCauley  could  not  have  remained 
thirty-six  years  in  one  pastorate,  preach- 
ing to  a  congregation  whose  membership 
included  at  times  as  many  as  twenty 
lawyers,  had  he  not  spent  hours  of  toil 
in  his  study.  It  is  a  simple  record  of  fact 
to  say  that  with  the  cares  of  a  large  family 
upon  him  he  found  it  necessary,  in  order 
to  secure  quiet  and  hours  of  study,  to 
labor  constantly  late  at  night. 

While  we  dare  not  neglect  this  intel- 
lectual culture,  I  wish  rather  to  say  a 
word  in  behalf  of  "Culture  for  Service." 
The  message  of  the  pulpit,  the  hours  of 
study,  the  activities  of  the  week,  must 
ever  aim  at  mental  and  spiritual  un- 
selfishness. There  is  great  danger  in  the 
intellectual  life  of  ministers,  under  the 


106      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

plea  of  a  great  and  holy  work,  to  be  lovers 
simply  of  themselves.  College  and  sem- 
inary education  easily  engenders  intel- 
lectual pride  and  the  exclusive  taste  of 
a  cultivated  class,  and  many  a  minister 
follows  his  taste  and  seeks  companionship 
in  his  books  or  associates  almost  exclu- 
sively with  people  who  love  books  and 
have  tastes  in  common  with  him. 

How  easy  to  pursue  truth  for  itself 
without  any  regard  for  its  effect  upon 
men.  Beware  of  becoming  more  inter- 
ested in  books  than  in  lives,  in  theories 
and  speculations  about  the  truth  than 
in  truth  as  a  food  of  life.  Rather  by 
far  nurture  your  soul  by  the  strength 
developed  in  exercising  your  knowledge 
for  the  good  of  others. 

Is  it  not  a  significant  fact  that  every 
truth  of  revelation  has  its  practical  bear- 
ing.f^  A  fair  test  of  truth  is  its  ability, 
upon  being  preached  and  taught,  to 
quicken,  comfort  and  purify  the  souls 


The  Minister's  Personality  107 

of  men.  Without  this,  all  intellectual 
efforts  are  mere  speculations  of  the  study, 
idle  theories  of  mental  gymnasts. 

I  plead  for  spiritual  culture  for  service. 

Let  us  recognize  that  the  test  of  spir- 
ituality is  service  and  that  service  is  the 
logical  and  lofty  means  to  spirituality. 

In  the  fifteenth  Chapter  of  John's 
gospel  our  Lord  unfolds  the  relation  of 
intimacy  in  which  he  would  remain  with 
his  disciples.  It  is  an  organic  relation — 
vital,  like  that  of  the  vine  to  its  branches. 

The  striking  fact  in  that  passage  is  that 
almost  every  verse  tells  us  that  the 
branches  are  in  the  vine  for  the  sake  of 
the  fruit  and  are  allowed  to  remain  there 
only  on  condition  of  fruit-bearing. 

We  are  God's  disciples  and  His  joy 
is  in  us  only  in  proportion  as  our  lives 
are  enriched  for  the  sake  of  others. 

Worky  whether  in  the  study,  search 
for  truth,  whether  in  the  written  Word  of 
revelation  or  in  God's  great  outdoors — 


108      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Work,  in  the  homes  of  people,  in  the 
community,  in  the  influences  everywhere 
set  in  motion — Work!  This  is  health 
and  growth  and  hfe! 

And  may  I  add  that  the  richest  experi- 
ence and  development  of  spiritual  culture 
come  in  ministering  to  the  individual. 
Here  our  knowledge  must  be  personal, 
experimental  and  practical.  Here  we 
discover  that  intellectual  endeavor  does 
not  necessarily  lead  to  right  conduct. 
We  soon  learn  the  fact  that  our  conduct 
and  the  conduct  of  others  is  far  below 
the  plane  of  our  thought.  We  know, 
vastly  better  than  we  do,  the  things  that 
are  right  and  true.  Thus,  in  dealing 
with  the  individual  and  in  developing 
constant  interest  in  individuals,  we  learn 
the  function  of  good  teaching;  viz.: 
The  cultivation  of  the  feeling  powers  of 
the  soul. 

Our  pulpit  methods  will  change.  We 
will   learn   the   mistake   of   making   the 


The  Minister's  Personality  109 

appeal  simply  to  the  intellect;  we  will 
discover  that  we  must  touch  the  heart 
and  the  conscience  in  order  to  secure 
right  action. 

Jesus  taught  that  it  is  not  what  we 
know  or  feel  but  what  we  do  that  makes 
life  worth  while.  And  so  in  the  culture 
of  the  intellect,  the  feelings  and  the  will 
for  service  among  others  do  we  attain 
the  right  character  for  ourselves. 

Lastly,  but  first  in  importance,  and 
first  as  a  method  of  personal  enrichment, 
and  helpfulness  for  others,  we  come  to 
consider  the  question  of  communion  with 
God,  or  personal  and  intercessory  prayer. 

For  the  Christian  minister,  character 
and  culture  are  conditioned  by  his  fellow- 
ship with  the  unseen.  The  secret  of 
power,  of  the  achievement  of  a  genuine 
saintly  character,  is  the  same  in  every 
age.  It  is  with  God.  Men  of  all  ages, 
who  have  done  great  things,  and  men  of 
today  who  are  doing  great  things,  disclose 


110      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 


to  us  that  their  fellowship  is  in  the  secret 
place  of  power.  Dr.  Jowett  in  suggesting 
how  to  avoid  the  perils  of  the  preacher 
indicates  our  possible  enrichment.  He 
writes  "By  studious  and  reverent  regard 
to  the  supreme  commonplaces  of  the 
spiritual  life,  we  must  assiduously  attain 
to  the  culture  of  our  souls.  We  must 
sternly  and  systematically  take  time  for 
prayer  and  for  the  devotional  reading 
of  the  Word  of  God.  We  must  appoint 
private  seasons  for  the  deliberate  and 
personal  appropriation  of  the  Divine 
Word,  for  self-examination  in  the  pres- 
ence of  its  warnings,  for  self-humbling 
in  the  presence  of  its  judgments,  for 
self-heartening  in  the  presence  of  its 
promises,  and  for  self-interrogation  in  the 
presence  of  its  glorious  hopes."  "We 
are  great  only  as  we  are  God-possessed; 
and  scrupulous  appointments  in  the  upper 
room  with  the  Master  will  prepare  us  for 
the   trials    and   hardships    of   the   most 


The  Minister's  Personality  111 

strenuous  campaign.  We  must,  there- 
fore, hold  firmly  and  steadily  to  this 
primary  principle,  that  of  all  things  that 
need  doing,  this  need  is  supreme,  to  live 
in  intimate  fellowship  with  God."  *'Let 
us  steadily  hold  a  reasonable  sense  of 
values  and  assign  each  appointed  duty 
to  its  legitimate  place,  and  in  any  ap- 
pointment of  values  this  would  surely 
be  the  initial  judgment,  that  nothing 
can  be  well  done  if  we  drift  away  from 
God.  Neglected  spiritual  fellowship 
means  futility  all  along  the  road.'* 

Meditation  should  be  associated  with 
prayer.  Meditation  is  an  invigorating 
heart  tonic.  It  is  both  a  medicine  and 
a  food.  It  is  the  strong  and  steady  grasp 
of  eternal  truths,  holding  them  up  in  their 
relations  and  their  sweep,  holding  them 
before  the  mind  until  they  become  vivid, 
all-possessing  realities.  The  spirit  be- 
comes serene  and  transfigured  when  we 
spend  moments  on  the  mount. 


112      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

This  discipline  of  the  soul  gives  us  the 
vision  glorious  and  only  as  we  have 
"the  light  that  shone  never  on  land  or 
sea"  can  we  become  a  blessing  in  our 
ministry.  Perhaps  the  great  peril  and 
temptation  that  besets  us  in  the  changed 
conditions  of  our  times  is  the  failure 
to  give  large  enough  place  to  prayer  and 
the  devotional  study  of  the  Word.  We 
meet  it  in  the  home  and  we  meet  it  in 
the  study  and  personal  life  of  the  min- 
ister. 

As  a  theological  student  I  shall  never 
forget  the  sense  of  shock  I  experienced  in 
attending,  for  the  first  time,  a  large 
church  body  and  in  being  placed  in  the 
same  room  in  a  hotel  with  two  or  three 
ministers,  to  notice  their  failure  to  kneel 
in  prayer  night  and  morning.  Some  one 
may  say  they  had  prayer  aplenty  in  the 
church,  but  this  very  insidious  and  uncon- 
scious appeal  of  the  minister's  work  must 
be  reckoned  with. 


The  Minister's  Personality  113 

Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  daily, 
personal  prayer  and  of  intercessions  in 
secret.  This  highest  culture  requires  pur- 
pose and  method  and  regularity.  It  is 
tremendously  difficult  but  its  rewards 
are  in  proportion,  for  as  John  Eliot,  the 
great  apostle  to  the  Indians,  said  long 
ago:  "Prayer  and  pains  through  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ,  can  accomplish  any- 
thing." Of  our  Master  we  read:  "In 
the  days  of  his  flesh  He  offered  up  prayers 
and  supplications  with  strong  cryings  and 
tears." 

We  cannot  enter  into  the  triumph  of 
the  ministry  unless  through  fellowship 
with  Christ.  "That  I  may  know  Him 
and  the  power  of  his  resurrection  and  the 
fellowship  of  his  suffering,"  says  Paul. 
"Our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father  and 
with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,"  says  John. 

If  we  are  to  fill  our  place  among  men 
as  the  representatives  of  Christ,  his 
witnesses  sharing  his  life,  we  must  keep 


114      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

in  daily  and  constant  association  with 
Him,  and  so  will  courtesy,  patience, 
courage,  gentleness,  considerateness,  for- 
bearance and  good  temper  and  love  and 
all  the  strong  and  attractive  graces  grow 
in  us.  For  they  are  fruits,  the  natural 
and  spontaneous  growth  of  communion 
with  the  Lord. 

Let  us  have  and  aim  to  attain  high 
ideals  of  the  ministry  and  then  we  will 
be  able  to  fulfill  that  description  of  the 
work  of  the  ministry  which  President 
Woodrow  Wilson  set  forth  several  years 
ago: 

"What  is  it  that  the  minister  should 
try  to  do?  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
minister  should  try  to  remind  his  fellow- 
men  in  everything  that  he  does  and  in 
everything  that  he  says,  that  eternity 
is  not  future  but  present;  that  there  is 
in  every  transaction  of  life  a  line  that 
connects  it  with  eternity,  and  that  our 
lives  are  but  the  visible  aspect  of  the 


The  Minister's  Personality  115 

experiences  of  our  spirits  upon  the  earth; 
that  we  are  living  here  as  spirits;  that 
our  whole  conduct  is  to  be  influenced 
by  things  that  are  invisible,  of  which 
we  must  be  constantly  reminded  lest  our 
eyes  should  be  gluttonously  filled  with 
the  things  that  are  visible;  that  we  should 
be  reminded  that  there  lurks  everywhere, 
not  ungraciously  and  with  forbidden 
mien,  but  graciously  and  with  salvation 
on  its  countenance,  the  image  and  the 
memory  of  Christ,  going  a  little  journey 
through  the  earth  to  remind  men  of  the 
fatherhood  of  God,  of  the  brotherhood 
of  men,  of  the  journey  that  all  spirits 
are  taking  to  the  land  that  is  unseen 
and  to  which  they  are  all  to  come." 


THE    MINISTER    AS    A    MAN    IN     HIS 
RELATIONS  TO   AND   WITH    OTHERS 

A  Pastor 
(Dr.  John  G.  Holland) 
He  knows  but  Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified. 
Ah,  little  recks  the  worldling  of  the  worth 
Of  such  a  man  as  this  upon  the  earth! 
Who  gives  himself — his  all — to  make  men  wise 
In  doctrines  which  his  life  exemplifies. 
The  years  pass  on,  and  a  great  multitude 
Still  find  in  him  a  character  whose  light 
Shines  round  him  like  a  candle  in  the  night; 
And  recognize  a  presence  so  benign 
That  to  the  godless  even  it  seems  divine. 
He  bears  his  people's  love  within  his  heart, 
And  envies  no  man,  whatsoe'er  his  part. 
His  church's  record  grows,  and  grows  again. 
With  names  of  saintly  women-folks  and  men. 
And  many  a  worldling,  many  a  wayward  youth, 
He  counts  among  the  trophies  of  his  truth. 
O,  happy  man;  There  is  no  man  like  thee 
Worn  out  in  service  of  humanity. 
And  dead  at  last,  'mid  universal  tears. 
Thy  name  a  fragrance  in  the  speaker's  breath, 
And  thy  divine  example  life  in  death. 

The  test  of  a  minister  is  his  ability  to  save  souls. 
This  is  the  divinest  work  in  the  world.  No  other 
calling  lends  itself  so  readily  to  the  winning 
of  souls.     "He   that    winneth    souls    is    wise." 


THE  MINISTER  AS  A  MAN  IN  HIS 

RELATIONS  TO  AND  WITH 

OTHERS 

Lecture  Two 

Some  time  ago  an  article  appeared  in 
the  American  Magazine  entitled  "Is  the 
preacher  a  Molly-Coddle?"  In  the 
course  of  the  article  the  writer  makes  the 
following  statement:  "Among  strong, 
steadfast,  manly  business  men,  as  well 
as  among  the  athletes  of  the  baseball 
and  football  field,  there  is  a  kind  of  belief 
or  feeling  that  all  preachers  belong,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  'Molly-Coddle'  class." 

We  recognize  that  this  is  an  extreme 
statement  and  that  oftentimes  the  man 
of  the  world  regards  anything  beyond 
his  own  material  circle  or  outside  the 
range  of  his  experience  as  belonging  to 
the  effeminate  and  weak  side  of  life. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  worth  while  to  ponder 
such  a  statement,  even  though  we  finally 
discard  it  as  unfair  and  extreme. 

(119) 


120      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Current  criticisms  of  ministers  contain 
some  measure  of  truth.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  ministerial  training  and  the 
fact  that  ministers  are  not  called  upon 
to  give  an  "accounting"  of  their  work, 
in  the  business  sense  of  the  term,  has  a 
tendency  to  make  them  lax,  flabby,  leth- 
argic and  impracticable.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  calling  of  the  ministry  offers 
the  finest  opportunity  for  that  combina- 
tion of  strength  and  gentleness  which  is 
the  fruit  of  the  finest  piety  and  a  char- 
acteristic of  genuine  manliness. 

The  minister  of  today,  as  never  before, 
can  bring  a  world  of  heavenly  ideals  and 
inspirations  into  the  life  of  the  common 
day.  The  demands  made  upon  him  put 
iron  into  his  blood,  vision  into  his  ideals, 
energy  into  his  activities  and  greater 
determination  into  his  will.  The  words 
of  Kipling  surely  apply  to  the  preacher: 

"Go  to  your  work  and  be  strong, 
Halting  not  in  your  ways, 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     121 

Balking  the  end  half  won, 

For  an  instant  dole  of  praise. 
Stand  to  your  work  and  be  wise,  certain   of 

word  and  pen. 
Who  are  neither  children  nor  gods, 

But  men  in  a  world  of  men." 

For  the  minister  to  be  a  man  among 
men  and  to  sustain  the  proper  relations, 
it  is  important 

First,  that  he  sternly  apply  himself 
to  the  problem  of  self-discipline.  He 
must  conscientiously  set  before  himself 
definite  aims  and  a  standard  of  action 
and  efficient  study  of  human  nature. 
These  aims  and  standards  will  help  him 
to  form  correct  habits  and  to  make  his 
work  increasingly  effective. 

A  study  of  the  lives  of  successful  men 
of  affairs  and  of  efficiency  in  business 
shows  the  value  of  putting  down  in 
definite  form,  maxims  and  guides  of  action 
for  the  formation  of  right  habits  and  the 
development  of  character.  You  remem- 


122      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

ber  that  General  Washington  compiled  a 
code  of  morals  and  manners,  which  still 
exists  in  a  manuscript  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, entitled:  "Rules  for  behaviour  in 
company  and  conversation."  Note  a 
few  of  them: 

(1)  Every  action  in  company  ought  to 
be  with  some  sign  of  respect  to  those 
present. 

(2)  Be  not  hasty  to  believe  evil  reports 
to  the  disparagement  of  any. 

(3)  Speak  no  injurious  words,  neither 
in  jest  nor  in  earnest. 

(4)  Scoff  at  none  although  they  give 
occasion. 

(5)  Speak  no  evil  of  the  absent  for  it 
is  unjust. 

(6)  Be  not  angry  at  table  whatever 
happens  and  if  you  have  reason  to  be 
so,  show  it  not.  Put  on  a  cheerful  coun- 
tenance, especially  if  there  be  strangers, 
for  good  humor  makes  one  dish  of  meat 
a  feast. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     123 

(7)  Labor  to  keep  alive  in  your  breast 
that  little  spark  of  celestial  fire  called 
conscience. 

Benjamin  Franklin  might  have  become 
the  man  he  was  without  the  elaborate 
rules  and  maxims  which  he  laid  down  for 
his  guidance.  But  they  helped  instead 
of  hindered,  and  the  sayings  in  Poor 
Richard's  Almanack,  applying  to  every- 
day life,  exercise  an  influence  even  to  this 
day. 

That  prince  of  merchants  who  has 
revolutionized  business  methods  is  fond 
of  summarizing,  in  the  form  of  brief  rules 
and  statements,  correct  principles  and 
methods  which  lead  to  success.  Not 
long  ago  Mr.  Wanamaker,  in  one  of  his 
editorials  in  a  newspaper  advertisement, 
made  some  admirable  statements  which 
apply  to  the  minister  who  desires  to  be 
a  genuine  man  and  a  true  merchantman 
of  heavenly  goods: 

"An  unsuccessful  clerk  or  business 
man  does  not  need  to  look  far  for  the 


124      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

cause  of  his  trouble.  It  is  generally  in 
himself  or  herself.  It  may  be  one  of 
this  dozen  of  little  things  that  are  not 
little  things: 

1.  He  forgets  that  his  worth  is  mani- 
fest by  what  he  produces  in  management 
or  sales. 

2.  He  finds  excuses  for  not  doing 
instead  of  finding  ways  to  do  what  should 
be  done. 

3.  The  world  goes  ahead  in  almost 
every  direction,  and  he  keeps  on  the 
humdrum  turnpike  where  somebody  will 
have  to  pay  the  tolls. 

4.  He  is  not  observant,  accurate  or 
thoughtful. 

5.  He  is  sailing  by  the  broken  compass 
of  chance. 

6.  He  flatters  himself  by  comparing 
himself  in  his  own  mirror  instead  of 
with  others  that  have  passed  him  in  the 
race. 

7.  He  thinks  nobody  notices  that  he 
has  fallen  behind. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     125 

8.  He  does  not  love  his  work  as  he 
used  to,  and  therefore  his  enthusiasms 
have  been  lost. 

9.  He  puts  off  too  many  things  until 
tomorrow. 

10.  He  is  unconscious  of  being  idle 
much  of  his  time,  and  lets  the  day  go  by 
lacking  results  he  could  have  attained. 

11.  His  lack  of  thoroughness  blocks 
his  leadership. 

12.  However  honorable,  he  fails  to 
realize  that  his  example  affects  others." 

You  remember  the  description  which 
St.  Paul  gives  of  himself  both  as  a  Christ- 
ian minister  and  as  a  Christian  man: 
"Not  that  I  have  already  obtained  or 
am  already  made  perfect  but  I  press  on, 
if  so  be  that  I  may  lay  hold  on  that  for 
which  also  I  was  laid  hold  on  by  Christ 
Jesus." 

In  the  ministry,  contentment  with 
ourselves  or  our  achievements  is  fatal. 
St.  Paul's  description  is  a  perfect  picture 


126      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

of  the  strenuous  life  and  to  that  Hfe  we 
are  pledged.  Goethe's  line  is  "Who 
grasps  the  moment  as  it  flies,  he  is  the 
real  man." 

Note  briefly  a  half  dozen  factors  which 
are  fundamental  for  personal  character 
and  one's  influence  on  others: 

1.  Decision  of  character  is  necessary 
to  successful  accomplishment  either  in 
study  or  in  action. 

The  college  educated  man,  if  he  has 
profited  by  disciplinary  studies,  has  cul- 
tivated the  power  of  habitual  concen- 
tration of  mind  on  any  one  subject  that 
may  be  presented  to  him.  Decision  of 
character  is  not  simply  courage  and 
perseverance  in  the  accomplishment  of 
one's  subject  but  it  is  also  that  ability 
to  give  one's  self  unreservedly  to  the 
work  of  the  moment,  turning  neither 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  It  means 
firmness,  constancy  of  purpose  and  clear- 
ness of  vision  as  well  as  the  courage  of 
one's  convictions. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     127 

Decision  of  character  will  prevent  a 
man  from  "dawdling,"  as  Sir  Walter 
Scott  used  to  call  it;  wasting  of  time, 
whether  in  idle  reading  or  in  doing  unnec- 
essary things  or  in  constantly  postponing 
a  decision.  "Ever  learning  and  never 
able  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth." 

I  have  never  forgotten  a  conversation 
with  the  late  Geo.  F.  Baer,  President 
of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
road. It  occurred  in  the  first  year  of 
my  ministry.  Speaking  of  the  large 
number  of  subjects  which  come  up  for 
consideration  before  business  men  and 
the  need  of  giving  instant  direction,  Mr. 
Baer  said:  "Come  to  a  decision  quickly, 
after  you  have  looked  at  the  subject 
from  various  points  of  view,  then  stick 
to  your  decision  and  go  ahead." 

The  minister  is  to  be  enterprising, 
alert,  decisive — surrendering  himself  to 
the  work.  This  calls  for  a  happy  com- 
bination   of    knowledge,    zeal    and    dis- 


128      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

cretion,  wide  sympathy,  keen  but  cool 
judgment,  alertness  and  a  spirit  of  hope- 
fulness and  enthusiasm  which  convinces 
and  persuades. 

Decision  of  character  will  lead  you  to 
stick  to  the  right;  to  choose  between 
higher  and  lower  values,  between  the 
less  important  and  more  important  thing. 
Your  work,  like  the  proverbial  woman's 
work  in  the  home,  is  never  done.  It 
is  a  question  of  choice  in  the  doing  of 
a  multitude  of  things  and  the  man  who 
is  firm  and  sympathetic,  persevering 
and  energetic,  deUberate  and  wise  in 
plans  and  indefatigable  in  execution,  will 
secure  results  where  the  timid,  irresolute, 
procrastinating  man  will  fail. 

2.  Punctuality.  Closely  allied  with 
decision  of  character  is  the  habit  of  being 
punctual.  This  means  promptness  in 
keeping  engagements  and  in  attending 
to  work.  On  many  a  business  man's 
desk  you  will  find  the  motto:  "Do  it 
now." 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     129 

For  five  years  I  was  associated  with 
Dr.  Charles  F.  McCauley.  This  fellow- 
ship began  when  he  was  seventy  years 
of  age.  During  that  period  of  time  a 
marked  characteristic  of  his  was  a  careful 
planning  so  as  to  meet  every  engagement 
promptly.  He  was  always  on  hand  to 
see  that  the  church  services  began  on 
time.  If  a  call  came  to  visit  the  sick 
or  information  was  given  concerning  a 
new  family,  the  duty  was  attended  to 
promptly.  Notwithstanding  the  infirmi- 
ties of  age,  his  correspondence  received 
prompt  attention. 

In  these  later  years  I  have  had  large 
experience  in  a  general  church  position 
with  hundreds  of  ministers.  It  may  be 
surprising  to  you,  but  nevertheless  true, 
that  you  can  often  determine  the  secret 
of  a  man's  efficiency  and  his  ability  to 
do  a  large  amount  of  work  by  his  prompt- 
ness in  answering  letters.  The  man  who 
is  constantly  putting  off  things,  instead 


130      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

of  attending  to  them  promptly,  develops 
a  weakness  of  character  which  inevitably 
leads  to  loss  and  ineflSciency.  Coopera- 
tion, or,  as  it  is  called  in  college  and  busi- 
ness circles,  "Team  Work,"  is  essential 
in  the  conduct  of  the  church's  work  and 
unless  one  is  prompt  in  attending  to  his 
work  and  in  keeping  his  promises,  and 
punctual  in  meeting  his  engagements,  he 
cannot  hope  to  inspire  others  with  con- 
fidence or  to  secure  their  activity  in  the 
cause  in  which  he  himself  is  interested. 

The  manifold  duties  of  a  minister's 
calling  make  it  impossible  for  him  to 
wait  upon  moods  or  states  of  feeling  for 
doing  his  work.  It  is  only  by  prompt 
and  continuous  application  to  the  duty 
of  the  hour  that  the  minister  can  hope 
to  be  a  "workman  that  needeth  not  to 
be  ashamed." 

3.  Personal  Habits.  The  minister's 
relations  toward  others  are  affected  by 
habits  of  cleanliness,   dress,   eating  and 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     131 

often  of  sleeping.  It  is  our  duty  to  be 
physically  fit,  to  apply  rules  of  health 
to  our  daily  hving,  to  appear  in  such 
clothes  as  are  fit  and  becoming  and  to 
give  such  personal  attention  to  our  ap- 
pearance as  will  not  be  the  cause  of 
stumbling  or  the  occasion  for  remarks 
on  the  part  of  others. 

The  minister  is  a  public  man  and  he 
is  likely  at  any  time  to  mingle  with  his 
parishioners  in  the  store,  in  the  office 
or  in  the  home.  We  all  know  individual 
ministers  who  become  very  negligent  in 
matters  of  dress  and  ordinary  cleanliness. 
They  may  be  able  ministers  of  the  gospel 
but  very  often  when  their  names  are 
mentioned,  their  slovenly  dress  and  little 
mannerisms  to  the  exclusion  of  their 
nobler  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  like- 
wise suggest  themselves.  In  these  things 
we  need  to  remember,  as  Emerson  has 
said:  "Good  manners  are  made  up  of 
petty  sacrifices." 


132      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

As  our  habits  are  the  reflex  of  repeated 
actions,  in  the  study  and  in  the  home, 
and  in  our  social  contact  with  others, 
it  is  necessary  to  have  standards  and 
plans  and  at  certain  times  take  an  inven- 
tory of  our  habits,  just  as  a  business 
man  takes  an  inventory  of  his  merchan- 
dise. 

The  minister  of  today  must  be  an 
executive,  an  oflfice  worker  as  well  as 
a  student  in  the  study.  He  needs  fixed 
hours  of  study  and  freedom,  so  far  as 
possible,  from  interruption.  From  this 
point  of  view  experience  shows  that  it  is 
desirable  to  have  the  study  of  the  min- 
ister and  his  oflBce  in  the  church  rather 
than  in  his  home.  The  danger  in  the 
home  is  that  the  minister  may  give  too 
much  time  to  little  duties  which  are 
important  but  oftentimes  should  be  per- 
formed by  others,  and  he  may  be  inter- 
rupted too  frequently  by  those  who  are 
thoughtless  as  to  the  value  of  his  time, 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     133 

or  as  to  the  ill  results  that  follow  from 
constant  and  petty  interruptions. 

4.  Complaining  Habit.  Avoid  the 
constant  habit  of  speaking  of  your  bodily 
health.  A  certain  minister  got  so  much 
in  the  habit  of  saying,  whenever  his 
members  spoke  to  him,  "I  am  tired," 
that  it  became  a  joke  in  the  congregation. 
This  same  minister  would  frequently 
speak  from  the  pulpit  of  his  family, 
sometimes  saying  that  he  could  not 
preach  very  well  today  because  he  had 
taken  care  of  the  baby  last  night.  This 
complaining  habit  grew  upon  him  and 
finally  w^as  one  of  the  causes  of  his  resig- 
nation. Better  not  speak  about  your- 
self or  talk  about  your  complaints. 

5.  Covetousness.  Dr.  Charles  E. 
Jefferson,  in  his  book  on  *'The  Minister 
as  Shepherd,"  calls  attention  to  the  two 
temptations  of  the  minister,  against 
which  our  Lord  and  two  of  His  apostles 
uttered  special  and  repeated  warnings. 


134    The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

They  are  the  love  of  gain  and  the  love 
of  power — covetousness  and  ambition. 
The  experience  of  nineteen  hundred  years 
has  shown  that  these  two  temptations 
are  the  most  insidious,  most  constant 
and  most  fatal.  St.  Peter,  speaking  of 
false  teachers,  says:  "And  in  covetous- 
ness shall  they,  with  feigned  words, 
make  merchandise  of  you."  And  in 
another  place:  "Having  a  heart  exer- 
cised in  covetousness." 

Paul  says :  "Put  to  death  covetousness. 
It  is  idolatry." 

Let  us  remember  that  covetousness 
means  more  than  the  inordinate  love  of 
money.  Ministers,  as  a  rule,  are  not 
abnormally  fond  of  money.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  any  set  of  men  in  the 
world  who  think  so  little  about  it  and 
care  so  little  for  it.  It  is  true,  of  course, 
that  a  man  may  be  grasping  and  stingy 
even  though  he  has  but  a  small  income, 
but  the   covetousness   against   which   a 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     135 

minister  must  guard  himself  is  an  exces- 
sive desire  for  anything  which  gratifies 
one's  own  cravings,  personal  gratification, 
and  an  unlawful  love  of  authority.  This 
may  show  itself  in  the  use  of  his  time, 
in  his  attitude  toward  his  people  and  the 
general  work  of  the  church. 

He  may  act  as  if  the  church  existed 
for  him  rather  than  he  as  the  minister 
for  the  church.  Some  men  use  the  min- 
istry as  a  stepping  stone  to  something 
else  and  the  salary  of  the  pastor  as  a 
base  of  supplies  for  other  work.  It  is  a 
sad  reflection  on  the  ministry  when  men 
go  into  the  lecture  business,  act  as  teach- 
ers or  instructors  in  the  public  schools 
or  institutions  of  learning,  to  which  they 
are  giving  their  chief  time  and  at  the 
same  time  are  drawing  their  salaries  as 
pastors.  In  exceptional  cases  dire  neces- 
sity may  compel  a  man  to  hold  a  dual 
position. 

Covetousness  shows  itself  in  conceit 
and  in  an  exaggerated  idea  of  one's  worth. 


136      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Such  men  feel  that  they  have  not  been 
recognized  as  they  should  be.  They 
criticize  men  who  occupy  influential 
pastorates.  They  do  foohsh  things  and 
become  pessimistic  and  destroy  their 
spiritual  life. 

Covetousness  also  shows  itself  in  ne- 
glect in  visiting  the  sick,  in  looking  up 
outsiders,  in  speaking  with  young  people 
who  are  facing  great  temptations.  The 
covetous  man  thinks  so  much  about 
himself  that  he  does  not  have  sufficient 
time  to  give  thought  to  others.  He  suc- 
cumbs to  this  subtle  temptation  because 
his  pastoral  neglect  may  not  be  brought 
to  the  surface  and  no  one  reprove  him 
for  failing  to  do  his  duty. 

You  can  also  notice  the  spirit  of  covet- 
ousness in  men  who  are  cowardly.  The 
covetous  man  will  not  face  moral  issues. 
He  is  afraid  to  show  his  colors.  In 
matters  of  church  benevolence  covetous- 
ness shows  itself.     Many  a  minister  is 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     137 

afraid  to  present  the  great  missionary 
causes  of  the  church  because  of  the 
pronounced  opposition  of  some  influ- 
ential man.  The  covetous  man,  as  the 
Saviour  described  him,  is  a  hirehng  and 
not  a  shepherd  and  he  flees  at  the  sight 
of  a  wolf.  You  can  be  sure  that  the 
occasion  will  arise  which  will  open  your 
eyes  to  the  sin  of  covetousness  and  to  its 
subtle,  deceitful  character.  Our  Christ- 
ian faith  and  oftentimes  the  Christian 
faith  of  earnest  men  in  the  congregation, 
may  be  in  danger  of  destruction  from 
the  spirit  of  covetousness.  The  test  is 
in  the  man's  motives  and  actions.  If 
the  minister  is  working  for  himself,  rather 
than  for  the  welfare  of  his  congregation 
and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  his  selfish 
spirit  of  avarice,  whether  it  be  shown  in 
the  seeking  for  money  or  education  or 
fame  or  power,  will  destroy  his  usefulness 
and  influence  for  good. 

Let  us  never  forget  that  the  minister's 
salary  is  not  payable  in  money.     He  gets 


138      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

that  which  represents  the  value  of  money 
— happiness,  that  which  money  cannot 
purchase.  With  all  its  poverty  and  its 
difficulties,  the  minister's  is  the  happiest 
of  vocations.  If  his  heart  is  in  his  work 
he  has  the  most  congenial  of  tasks.  He 
is  busy  with  large  concerns  worthy  of  the 
best  energies  of  the  best  men,  with  the 
supreme  desire  to  bless  his  fellowmen.  He 
is  the  minister,  the  servant  in  the  most 
glorious  service  of  the  divine  Master. 
His  reward  is  in  the  affections  of  his 
people  and  in  the  soul  enrichment  of 
genuine  altruistic  work.  Unless  he  has 
inherited  money  he  will  always  be  com- 
fortably poor,  but  rich  in  the  treasure 
house  of  memory,  in  the  gratitude  of 
people  to  whom  he  has  ministered  and 
in  the  consciousness  of  fellowship  with 
his  divine  Lord  and  joy  in  the  doing  of 
the  work,  contented  with  the  wages  of 
simply  "going  on." 

Second.     It  is  important  to  have  clear 
and  definite  views  of  the  minister's  rela- 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     139 

tions  as  a  man  and  an  ojSScial  to  the  com- 
munity. We  have  considered  standards 
of  action  and  the  patient  study  of  human 
nature  for  the  purpose  of  forming  correct 
habits  which  will  help  us  to  influence 
our  fellowmen  to  the  higher  life.  These 
characteristics  will,  of  course,  apply  to 
the  minister's  relations  in  the  life  of  the 
community,  but  the  minister,  both  as 
a  man  and  because  of  the  oflSce  he  bears, 
sustains  a  unique  relation  to  the  com- 
munity. It  is  a  relation  which  receives 
emphasis  in  the  terms  of  social  service, 
in  the  church  as  a  community  force, 
and  in  the  varied  movements  and  agen- 
cies which  are  the  fruitage  of  the  teach- 
ings of  the  church  and  the  associated 
activities  of  Christians. 

We  do  well  to  recognize  that  the  Christ- 
ian minister  is  a  worker  for  the  kingdom 
of  God.  This  involves  the  social  work 
of  the  ministry  and  of  the  church.  We 
are  using  new  terms  for   an  old   truth. 


140      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

From  a  study  of  St.  Paul's  conception 
of  the  kingdom  you  will  find  that  with 
him  the  kingdom  is  ethical  in  character. 
Take  the  fourteen  instances  mentioned 
of  the  kingdom,  by  St.  Paul,  and  in  every 
one  except  two  (2nd  Timothy),  the 
emphasis  and  satisfaction  of  a  distinct 
ethical  condition  is  asserted  or  implied. 
The  laws  of  the  kingdom  are  the  eternal 
laws  of  human  welfare.  The  object  of 
the  church  and  so  with  the  minister  of 
the  church,  is  the  extension,  victory  and 
abiding  supremacy  of  the  kingdom.  The 
so-called  "social  problem"  is  an  ethical 
problem.  It  is  one  of  character.  There- 
fore, the  social  message  of  Christianity 
is  not  incidental  but  essential. 

The  two  fundamental  questions  of  the 
Bible  are  "  Where  art  thou?  "  and  "Where 
is  thy  brother.'^" 

Man's  relation  to  God  and  man's 
relation  to  his  fellows.  Therefore,  relig- 
ion and  morality,  the  new  life  of  the 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     141 

individual  and  the  application  of  that 
life  in  relation  to  others,  are  inseparable. 
They  never  can  be  safely  divided. 

We  can  rejoice  that  the  relation  of  the 
minister  to  the  community  and  to  the 
people  now  is  vastly  more  human  and 
less  ecclesiastical  than  in  the  past.  While 
the  teachings  of  our  Lord  have  the  per- 
sonal note,  yet  his  law  of  love  which 
He  lays  upon  every  conscience,  the  enthu- 
siasm for  humanity  with  which  He  would 
fill  the  heart,  makes  Christianity  a 
missionary  and  an  energizing  force  for 
the  transformation  of  the  community 
and  the  uplift  of  the  lowest. 

The  Church  exists  for  the  community 
and  not  the  community  for  the  church. 
If  this  be  true,  the  churches  in  any  one 
community  must  get  together.  The  par- 
ish system,  so  far  as  possible,  through 
community  grouping  of  churches  and 
federation,  must  be  restored  in  Prot- 
estantism, for  the  supreme  message  of 


142      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

the  Church  to  the  inner  hfe  and  to  per- 
sonal moraHty  cannot  be  brought  home 
to  individuals  in  the  community  unless 
the  minister  and  his  congregation  know 
the  religious  affiliation  and  develop  a 
constant  religious  census  and  oversight 
of  the  individuals  and  families  of  the 
community,  just  as  the  tax  assessor  or 
the  political  ward  leader  knows  his  facts 
in  relation  to  every  voter.  But  the 
community,  as  a  group  of  people,  whether 
as  citizens  congregated  in  the  city  or 
hundreds  living  pleasantly  in  a  village 
or  the  scattered  families  in  the  country- 
side, has  community  problems  which, 
fundamentally,  are  questions  of  human 
relations  and,  therefore,  are  moral  prob- 
lems. The  varied  interests  of  the  com- 
munity, its  sane  government,  its  business 
and  industrial  organization,  its  educa- 
tional interests,  the  forces  of  religion, 
various  organizations  representing  relief, 
child  welfare,  social  life,  the  elimination 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     143 

of  vice  and  crime  and  of  the  saloon — 
these  all  are  intimately  related  to  the 
happiness  and  welfare  and  liberty  of 
people  in  the  community.  Ministers 
must  take  their  part  in  the  consideration 
of  these  problems  and  lead  their  people 
to  see  that  these  community  relations 
are  as  truly  a  part  of  the  work  of  the 
church  as  are  its  other  activities.  The 
congregation  that  lives  for  the  community 
will  discover  that  what  were  formerly 
vexed  problems  of  congregational  exis- 
tence, such  as  the  congregational  expenses, 
the  improvement  of  the  church  building 
and  the  petty  jealousies  of  individuals, 
will  disappear.  The  congregation  finds 
itself  in  losing  its  life  for  others. 

The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  means  the 
redemption  of  the  whole  life  of  man  and 
the  minister's  duty  and  privilege  is  to 
use  his  influence  in  all  the  varied  relations 
of  community  life.  The  church  that 
develops  in  its  people  a  community  spirit 


144      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

and  does  neighborly  parish  work  will 
find  that  its  influence  will  not  only  grow 
but  its  own  life,  in  point  of  numbers 
and  in  spiritual  uplift,  will  be  greatly 
enlarged. 

If  you  wish  to  have  a  vision  of  what 
the  minister  can  do  and  of  the  actual, 
practical  work  of  a  church  in  relation 
to  the  community,  study  the  little  book 
entitled  "The  Church  a  Community 
Force,"  by  Rev.  Worth  M.  Tippy,  pastor 
of  the  Epworth  Memorial  Church,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  published  by  the  Missionary 
Education  Movement,  New  York. 

The  new  vision  of  community  service 
immeasurably  enlarges  the  work  of  the 
minister  and  restores  to  him  more  than 
the  old-time  influence  of  the  minister 
as  the  educated  man  in  the  community. 
This  vision  prevents  the  local  congrega- 
tion from  existing  as  a  religious  group 
or  club.  It  removes  selfishness  and  re- 
ligious isolation,  it  strikes  the  evangelistic 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     145 

note;  it  means  that  the  minister  and 
church  must  study  its  own  community 
problems  and  let  the  light  of  the  church 
become  the  light  of  the  community.  It 
calls  for  a  study  of  one's  neighborhood 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  local  congre- 
gation, and  from  the  experience  thus 
derived  it  will  be  found  that  the  open 
country,  the  rural  town,  the  small  city, 
are  as  rich  fields  for  community  service 
as  the  large  cities. 

This  is  an  heroic  age  for  the  men  who 
will  be  men,  who  will  fight  entrenched 
evil  and  who  will  bring  the  gospel  of 
peace  and  goodwill  to  bear  upon  the 
community  and  upon  the  times  in  which 
they  live.  Richard  Watson  Gilder  gives 
the  truth  in  his  poem  on  the  Heroic  Age : 

"He  speaks  not  well  who  doth  his  time  deplore. 
Naming  it  new  and  little  and  obscure, 
Ignoble  and  unfit  for  lofty  deeds. 
All  times  were  modern  in  the  times  of  them. 
And  this  no  more  than  others.     Do  thy  part 
Here  in  the  living  day,  as  did  the  great 


146      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

Who  made  old  days  immortal !     So  shall  men, 
Gazing  long  back  to  this  far-looming  hour, 
Say:    'Then  the  time  when  men  were  truly 

men; 
Though  wars  grew  less,  their  spirits  met  the 

test 
Of  new  conditions;  conquering  civic  wrong; 
Saving  the  state  anew  by  virtuous  lives; 
Guarding  the  country's  honor  as  their  own, 
And  their  own  as  their  country's  and  their 

sons': 
Defying  leagued  fraud  with  single  truth; 
Not  fearing  loss  and  daring  to  be  pure.'" 

Third.  The  minister  in  his  relations 
to  the  community,  in  social  service,  in 
teaching  and  in  all  other  movements  of 
the  church  must  never  fail  to  give  the 
supreme  message  which  is  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified.  The  redemption  of 
society  is  through  the  redemption  of  the 
individual  by  the  new  life  of  the  Saviour, 
his  Lord  and  the  Lord  of  society. 

The  preeminently  rewarding  work  of 
the  ministry  is  the  personal  work  in 
soul-saving  and  this  work  is  fundamental 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     147 


to  the  well-being  of  the  community,  and 
the  nation.  I  believe  with  all  my  heart 
in  social  service  but  I  agree  with  Dr. 
Charles  E.  Jefferson,  who  at  a  great 
convention  of  his  church  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  in  America  "we  have 
suffered  a  heart-breaking  disillusionment. 
We  expected  great  things  from  liberty 
and  education,  and  have  found  that  they 
are  broken  reeds.  Neither  our  wealth 
nor  our  science  has  given  us  either  peace 
or  joy.  The  four  wizards — liberty  and 
education  and  wealth  and  science — have 
performed  their  mightiest  miracles  under 
our  flag;  but  they  cannot  do  the  one  thing 
essential,  they  cannot  keep  the  conscience 
quick,  or  the  soul  alive  to  God.  Our  sins 
are  as  scarlet  and  our  vices  are  red  Hke 
crimson,  and  we  need  prophets  to  turn 
the  nation  to  the  God  who  will  abund- 
antly pardon.'* 

And  so  I  wish  to  emphasize,  in  particu- 
lar, individual  work  for  individuals.  The 
world,   as  well  as   Christians  generally, 


148      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

looks  to  the  minister  as  the  one  trained 
worker  who  can  deal  with  individual 
souls.  If  he  fail  at  this  most  vital  point, 
his  ministry  will  be  shorn  of  the  power 
which  inspires  and  makes  real  and  human 
his  preaching  and  teaching  and  all  social 
service  activities.  The  minister  who 
learns  from  the  teaching  and  example  of 
our  Lord  the  immeasurable  value  in  the 
Father's  eyes  of  each  single  soul  gained 
for  his  kingdom  and  how  its  recovery 
repays  the  utmost  pains  or  sacrifice  it 
may  cost,  that  minister  will  learn  how 
to  do  personal  work. 

Charles  G.  Trumbull,  Editor  of  the 
Sunday  School  Times,  who  has  given  us 
perhaps  the  most  practical  manual  on 
individual  soul-saving  in  the  book  entitled 
"Taking  Men  Alive"  considers  three 
truths  in  reference  to  such  work.  He 
says: 

"1.  The  work  of  individual  soul-saving 
is  the  greatest  work  that  God  permits 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     149 

men  to  do. 

"2.  It  was  Christ's  own  preferred 
method  of  w^ork,  as  it  is  his  preferred 
method  for  us  today,  for  it  is  always 
the  most  effective  way  of  working. 

"3.  It  is  the  hardest  work  in  the  world 
to  do  and  it  always  will  be  the  hardest." 

Mr.  Trumbull's  book  is  a  study  in  the 
principles  and  practice  of  individual  soul- 
winning,  based  on  his  father's  book 
entitled  "Individual  Work  for  Indi- 
viduals." A  record  of  personal  experi- 
ences and  conviction. 

This  book  on  "Individual  Work  for 
Individuals"  by  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trum- 
bull is  a  classic  on  the  subject.  His  own 
conversion  came  about  as  a  result  of  a 
letter  from  a  friend  and  of  his  appeal  to 
him  to  become  a  Christian.  Mr.  Trum- 
bull was  surprised  that  this  friend,  who 
had  taken  his  stand  for  Christ  during  a 
revival,  did  not  say  anything  to  him  on 
the  subject,  but  later  the  friend  wrote  a 


150      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

letter  which  was  the  turning  point  in 
his  Hfe.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Trumbull  had 
come  to  the  point  of  Christian  decision 
for  himself,  he  says  that  he  looked  about 
him  for  another  man.  He  spoke  to  an 
associate  in  the  office  who  was  also  a 
fellow-boarder  with  him.  They  were 
accustomed  to  walk  together  to  and  fro 
from  the  boarding  house  to  the  office 
and  were  constantly  thrown  into  contact 
with  each  other.  As  they  walked  to- 
gether, Mr.  Trumbull  told  his  friend  of 
his  new  decision  for  Christ  and  urged 
him  to  make  a  like  decision.  The  answer 
burned  in  the  lesson  of  the  need  and 
neglect  of  individual  work.  "Trumbull, 
your  words  cut  me  to  the  heart.  You 
little  think  how  they  rebuke  me.  I've 
long  been  a  professed  follower  of  Christ; 
and  you  have  never  suspected  this, 
although  we've  been  in  close  association 
in  house  and  office  for  years.  I've  never 
said  a  word  to  you  for  the  Saviour  whom 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     151 

I  trust.  I've  never  urged  you  to  trust 
Him.  I've  never  said  a  word  for  Him. 
And  now  a  follower  of  his,  and  a  friend 
of  yours,  from  a  distance,  has  been  the 
means  of  leading  you  to  Him.  And  here 
are  you,  inviting  me  to  come  to  that 
Saviour  of  whom  I  have  been  a  silent 
follower  for  years.  May  God  forgive 
me  for  my  lack  of  faithfulness!" 

It  is  well  worth  the  while  of  every 
theological  student  and  minister  to  study 
the  two  books  I  have  named.  May  I 
call  to  your  attention  several  matters 
in  Mr.  Trumbull's  experience  which  we 
need  to  keep  constantly  in  mind.^^  One 
is  the  answer  to  the  question  on  the 
dangers  of  personal  evangelism.  Of  a 
certain  experience  in  the  army  he  wrote: 
"That  experience  with  my  first  convert 
encouraged  me  with  my  individual  work 
for  individuals.  I  saw  that  it  were  better 
to  make  a  mistake  in  one's  first  effort  at 
a    personal    religious    conversation    and 


152      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

correct  that  mistake  afterwards,  than 
not  to  make  any  effort.  There  can  be 
no  mistake  so  bad  in  working  for  an 
individual  soul  for  Christ,  as  the  fatal 
mistake  of  not  making  any  honest  en- 
deavor. How  many  persons  refrain  from 
doing  anything  lest  they  should  possibly 
do  the  wrong  thing  just  now.  Not  doing 
is  the  worst  of  doing.  "Inasmuch  as 
ye  did  it  not,  .  .  .  depart  from  me," 
is  the  foretold  sentence  of  the  Judge  of 
all.  In  another  place  the  author  says: 
"The  devil's  favorite  argument  with 
a  believer  is  that  just  now  is  not  a  good 
time  to  speak  on  the  subject.  A  lover 
of  Christ  and  of  souls  is  told  that  he  will 
harm  the  cause  he  loves  by  introducing 
the  theme  of  themes  just  now." 

Dr.  Trumbull's  book  on  Individual 
Work  was  written  after  its  author  was 
seventy  years  of  age.  He  testifies  that 
it  is  his  honest  belief  that  he  did  far  more 
good  in  his  dealing  with  individuals  than 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     153 

he  ever  did  in  his  long  years  of  work  as 
editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Times,  speak- 
ing every  week  to  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  people,  or  in  his  books — and  they  were 
many,  which  he  published,  on  vitally 
important  subjects,  some  of  them  having 
a  large  circulation.  He  also  has  this  to 
say  as  to  the  "ease"  in  doing  personal 
work  which  his  long  practice  had  brought 
him :  "  From  nearly  half  a  century  of  such 
practice,  as  I  have  had  opportunity  day 
by  day,  I  can  say  that  I  have  spoken  with 
thousands  upon  thousands  on  the  subject 
of  their  spiritual  welfare.  Yet,  so  far 
from  my  becoming  accustomed  to  this 
matter,  so  that  I  can  take  hold  of  it  as 
a  matter  of  course,  I  find  it  as  difficult 
to  speak  about  it  at  the  end  of  these  years 
as  at  the  beginning.  Never  to  the  present 
day  can  I  speak  to  a  single  soul  for  Christ 
without  being  reminded  by  Satan  that 
I  am  in  danger  of  harming  the  cause  by 
introducing  it  just  now.     If  there  is  one 


154      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

thing  that  Satan  is  sensitive  about,  it  is 
the  danger  of  a  Christian's  harming  the 
cause  he  loves  by  speaking  of  Christ  to 
a  needy  soul.  He  (Satan)  has  more  than 
once,  or  twice,  or  thrice,  kept  me  from 
speaking  on  the  subject  by  his  sensitive 
pious  caution,  and  he  has  tried  a  thousand 
times  to  do  so.  Therefore,  my  experience 
leads  me  to  suppose  that  he  is  urging 
other  persons  to  try  any  method  for  souls 
except  the  best  one." 

The  minister  who  has  a  catechetical 
class,  and  who  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
the  young  people  in  his  Sunday  School 
and  Young  People's  Society,  has  an  easy, 
natural  method  of  approach  in  dealing 
with  individuals.  Catechetical  class  in- 
struction can  be  directed  to  meet  the 
situation  which  conversations  with  the 
members  of  the  class  disclose.  Indeed, 
the  richest  experience  of  the  ministry 
is  in  personal  conversation  and  prayer 
with  the  young  people  and  the  individuals 
preparing  for  membership  in  the  church. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     155 

Through  the  many  years  of  his  pas- 
torate Dr.  McCauley  arranged  either  at 
his  home  or  in  the  church  to  meet  indi- 
vidually every  member  of  his  catechetical 
class  for  personal  conversation  and 
prayer.  He  used  personal  efforts  not 
only  in  soul-winning  but  in  influencing 
others  for  his  Master's  work.  A  prom- 
inent minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  for  whom  Dr.  McCauley  was 
guardian,  tells  with  the  deepest  feeling  of 
his  personal  conversations  with  Dr.  Mc- 
Cauley. Always  before  the  young  boy 
would  go  away  to  school  the  faithful 
guardian  would  call  him  into  his  study 
for  personal  conversation  and  prayer. 
On  one  occasion  he  said  to  this  lad  of 
seventeen:  "You  know  a  minister  has 
many  problems  and  great  burdens  of 
souls  to  carry  and  I  would  be  very  glad 
if  I  could  know  you  were  praying  for  me 
every  day,"  and  the  lad,  through  all  the 
years  of  his  preparatory  school  and  college 


156      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

life  and  on  to  the  day  of  the  death  of 
Dr.  McCauley,  never  failed  to  pray  for 
this  man  of  God.  No  wonder  this  young 
man,  when  he  wrote  out,  in  his  applica- 
tion for  admission  to  the  seminary,  some 
answers  to  questions  relating  to  his  Hfe, 
said:  "If  I  ever  amount  to  anything  in 
this  world  I  owe  it  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles 
F.  McCauley  who  was  my  guardian  for 
six  years." 

One  of  the  prominent  ministers  of  the 
Reformed  Church  told  me  recently  that 
years  ago  when  he  was  but  ten  years  old, 
Dr.  McCauley  was  a  visitor  in  his  father's 
home.  He  had  a  pleasant  talk  with  the 
young  lad  and  suggested  that  he  might 
some  day  become  a  minister  and  after 
his  return  home  he  wrote  a  three-page 
letter  to  the  little  boy  on  the  subject  of 
his  becoming  a  minister. 

If  I  may  be  pardoned,  speaking  out  of 
my  own  experience,  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  mention  the  fact  that  the  Broth- 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     157 

erhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip  came  into 
being  in  part  as  a  result  of  talking  to 
six  young  men  on  the  subject  of  taking 
a  stand  for  Christ  and  uniting  with  the 
church.  Each  of  the  six  was  in  the 
pastor's  Bible  Class  and  agreed  to  take 
the  step  if  all  would  take  it  together. 
This  evidence  of  the  influence  of  one 
young  man  upon  another  had  much  to  do 
with  the  organization  of  the  Brotherhood. 
It  is  fair  to  say  that  literally  hundreds, 
if  not  thousands,  of  men  have  united 
with  the  church  through  the  individual 
and  associated  efforts  of  Brotherhood 
men,  the  influencing  of  one  man  by  an- 
other and  oftentimes  the  lateral  and 
combined  influence  of  groups  of  men 
one  upon  the  other. 

The  ways  of  doing  personal  work  are 
as  varied  as  are  individuals,  but  if  the 
supreme  importance  and  necessity  of 
individual  work  is  kept  in  mind  it  will 
be  discovered   that   sermons   and   Bible 


158      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

study  and  prayer  meetings  as  well  as  the 
work  of  church  organizations,  like  the 
Ladies'  Aid  Society,  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, Sunday  School  and  Class  Organi- 
zations, etc.,  can  all  be  utilized  and 
directed  and  made  effective  for  indi- 
vidual soul-winning.  One  illustration 
perhaps  will  indicate  possibilities.  A 
certain  doctor  and  his  wife  attended  the 
Sunday  evening  service.  A  little  per- 
sonal conversation  revealed  the  fact  that 
the  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a  Methodist 
minister  and  the  husband  was  brought 
up  as  a  Presbyterian,  but  neither  had 
ever  made  a  confession  of  religion.  Sev- 
eral sermons  were  preached,  directed 
toward  them,  as  a  result  of  conversations. 
Several  long  walks  were  taken  with  the 
doctor.  His  spiritual  difficulties  were 
discovered.  Dr.  Philip  Schaff's  book  on 
*'The  Person  of  Christ"  was  loaned  to 
the  doctor  and  within  a  few  months 
the  minister  had   the    joy   of  receiving 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others    159 

both  into  the  membership  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

Personal  work  in  soul-winning  is  the 
finest  of  Christian  arts  and  Paul  has 
given  us  the  principle  underlying  the 
work:  "If  though  I  was  free  from  all 
men  I  brought  myself  under  bondage  to 
all  that  I  might  gain  the  more."  "I  am 
become  all  things  to  all  men  that  I  may 
by  all  means  save  some."  It  was  our 
Lord  who  said:  "Follow  me  and  I  will 
make  you  to  become  fishers  of  men." 
The  successful  fisherman  embodies  the 
characteristics  which  every  soul-winner 
should  have.  They  are,  as  has  been  well 
stated,  "patience,  knowledge  of  the  inter- 
ests of  his  fish,  knowledge  of  the  bait 
that  would  attract  fish,  faith  in  things 
not  seen,  skill,  delicacy  of  touch,  refusal 
to  be  discouraged,  unlimited  persever- 
ance, conviction  that  he  has  not  yet 
exhausted  the  possibilities  of  his  art. 
All  these,  and  more,  make  a  true  fisher- 


160      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

man  and  it  is  important  to  note  that 
not  a  single  one  of  these  essentials  is 
beyond  the  power  of  any  one  to  attain. 
If  one  is  not  "born"  a  fisherman  he  can 
learn  how  and  he  ought.  Christ's  de- 
mands are  always  reasonable.  He  never 
enjoins  impossible  things  without  making 
them  possible.  The  all-important  thing  is 
to  get  a  passion  for  souls.  The  love  of 
souls  keeps  us  from  professionalism,  from 
cant,  from  excessive  zeal  and  from 
strengthening  simply  an  ecclesiastical 
institution.  It  is  love,  love  for  Jesus 
Christ  and  our  f ellowmen,  that  will  enable 
us,  as  ministers,  to  crucify  self,  form 
correct  habits  of  life,  throw  ourselves 
into  the  work  of  the  community,  and 
spend  our  time  in  loving,  personal  min- 
istry to  individual  men  and  women. 

How  did  McCheyne  preach,  it  was 
asked .f*  "As  if  he  wanted  to  save  your 
soul,"  was  the  reply.  The  true  minister 
of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  can  be  sure 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  Others     161 

that  he  sustains  the  right  relations  to  his 
fellowmen  when  he  shows  that  he  loves 
other  souls  and  goes  about  doing  them 
good. 


THE    MINISTER    AS    A    MAN    IN 
RELATION  TO  THE   CHURCH 

The  Christian  minister  can  never  be  pro- 
vincial or  parochial  in  his  tastes  or  ambitions. 
The  kingdom  of  Christ  has  no  boundary  or 
limitation  and  "no  end." 


THE    MINISTER    AS    A    MAN    IN 
RELATION  TO  THE   CHURCH 

Lecture  Three 

The  minister  of  today  is  called  to  be 
preeminently  a  headmaster  of  religious 
instruction.  He  must  be  an  executive. 
In  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it  his  teaching 
work  must  bulk  large.  He  is  called  to 
exercise  evangelistic  gifts  and,  to  use  a 
phrase  of  a  modern  manufacturing  plant, 
he  is,  or  ought  to  be,  an  "Efficiency 
Engineer." 

The  overwhelming  responsibilities  of 
the  minister's  office  in  these  respects 
cannot  fail  to  be  felt  if  one  recognizes 
the  fact  that  the  local  church  or  congre- 
gation must  be  a  community  church,  a 
force  to  work  with,  not  a  field  to  work 
in.  The  call  to  the  modern  church  is  to 
keep  in  view  all  the  interests  of  all  the 
people  both  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
here  and  the  hereafter.  In  short,  it  is 
to  serve  the  people  and  to  extend  the 

(165) 


166      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  the  world  over. 
It  is  not  simply  to  build  up  the  local 
congregation,  although  that  follows. 
Splendid  buildings,  good  equipment,  bills 
paid  at  the  end  of  the  year,  a  fair  atten- 
dance, some  contributions  toward  the 
work  of  the  denomination — these  do  not 
justify  the  existence  of  the  local  church. 
The  church  is  sent  on  the  same  errand 
as  its  divine  Master  and  Head  who  said: 
"The  son  of  man  came  not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto  but  to  minister  and  to  give 
his  life  a  ransom  for  many."  In  the  light 
of  these  statements  let  us  consider 

1st.  The  relation  of  the  minister  to 
the  local  congregation.  Note  briefly 
what  may  be  called  a  comprehensive  and 
constructive  program,  the  spirit  or  the 
proper  atmosphere  of  the  minister  and 
his  church. 

2nd.  His  relation  to  the  judicatories  or 
bodies  of  the  denomination  to  which  his 
congregation  belongs. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    167 

3rd.  The  minister's  relations  to  the 
benevolent  causes  and  agencies. 

4th.  His  relations  to  interdenomina- 
tional agencies  and  cooperative  or  federa- 
tive bodies. 

In  the  first  place,  a  comprehensive  and 
constructive  program  for  the  minister  as 
a  leader  and  an  executive  requires  the 
recognition  of  an  organizing  principle. 
The  minister  and  his  congregation  must 
know  where  they  are  going,  and  what 
they  are  purposing  to  do.  The  minister 
should  put  these  questions  to  himself 
when  he  enters  upon  the  pastorate  and 
in  the  light  of  them  examine  his  work 
at  stated  intervals.  In  the  business 
world  the  past  twenty-five  years  a  study 
of  business  conditions  and  needs  and 
opportunities  has  resulted  in  what  is 
called  "Scientific  management  as  a  work- 
ing philosophy  of  business."  It  is  the 
application  of  the  efficiency  test  to  busi- 
ness.    Mr.  Frederick  W.  Taylor,  one  of 


168      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

the  two  chief  representatives  of  the 
system,  states  that  scientific  management 
is  not  mere  "speeding  up"  but  is  a  prac- 
tical philosophy  destined  to  replace  hap- 
hazard, traditional  methods.  It  sets  up 
a  normal  and  standard  method  of  per- 
forming a  task  by  the  observation  of 
those  actually  performing  the  task.  It 
is  the  wisdom  of  experience  mixed  with 
brains  and  definite  purpose. 

Four  underlying  principles  of  manage- 
ment, according  to  Mr.  Taylor,  are 

1.  The  development  of  a  true  science. 

2.  The  scientific  selection  and  training 
of  individual  workmen. 

3.  The  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the 
management,  with  the  men,  so  as  to 
insure  that  all  work  is  done  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  the  science  which 
has  been  developed. 

4.  Intimate,  friendly  cooperation  be- 
tween the  management  and  the  men,  the 
management  taking  over  work  which  it 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    169 

is  better  fitted  than  the  workmen  to 
perform  and  planning  the  workmen's 
tasks  in  detail. 

Dr.  Shailer  Mathews  has  summed  up 
the  essence  of  Efficiency  Management 
in  business  under  the  following  heads: 

1.  The  centering  of  attention  upon 
operation. 

2.  The  standardizing  of  operation  in 
terms  of  function  rather  than  of  com- 
petition and  "speeding  up." 

3.  The  division  of  labor  by  which  the 
planning  and  the  performance  of  tasks 
are  separated  and  each  is  highly  special- 
ized. 

4.  The  education  of  those  performing 
the  specialized  task,  as  to  their  functions 
and  precise  duties. 

5.  The  adjustment  of  all  plans  and 
tasks  into  perfect  cooperation,  through 
an  appeal  to  cooperative  rather  than 
competitive  self-interest. 

6.  The  use  and,  when  needed,  the 
invention  of  appropriate  equipment. 


170      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

7.  The  appeal  to  motives  which  will 
induce  workmen  to  submit  to  the  direc- 
tion and  control  involved  in  the  entire 
plan. 

Is  it  practicable  to  apply  such  eflficiency 
tests  or  scientific  management  to  the 
local  church  as  a  working  organization? 
If  we  keep  in  mind  the  fundamental 
differences  between  a  great  business  cor- 
poration and  a  church,  it  would  seem 
to  be  feasible  to  do  so.  The  real  tests 
of  efficiency  in  the  church  are  spiritual. 
"The  fruits  of  the  Spirit"  must  appear 
both  in  the  minister  and  members  if  the 
church  is  fulfilling  its  functions.  Its 
fruits  cannot  be  measured,  tabulated  or 
always  made  concrete.  Then  the  church 
has  to  deal  with  voluntary  and,  for  the 
most  part,  unskilled  workers.  In  indus- 
try the  workers  are  picked  and  under 
control  because  they  are  paid  wages  or 
salary.  Superintendents  or  heads  of  de- 
partments can  issue  orders  and  increase 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    171 

the  force  and  equipment  in  a  way  that 
is  not  possible  in  a  church.  Men  at  the 
head  of  business  establishments  sustain 
vitally  different  relations  to  their  working 
force  compared  to  that  of  the  minister 
as  leader  in  the  congregation.  The 

appeal  to  motive  is  radically  different. 
Making  allowance  for  these  differences, 
it  nevertheless  seems  true  that  the  funda- 
mental functions  of  the  church,  expressed 
in  terms  of  service  and  life,  can  be  tested, 
not  by  any  rigid  standard  of  efficiency 
but  rather  by  the  definite  tasks  to  which 
the  church  sets  herself — tasks  resulting 
from  the  exercise  of  the  graces  and  life 
of  the  Christian,  in  attempting  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  people  and  the  command 
of  her  great  Head.  It  is  the  business 
of  the  minister  to  secure  a  proper  organi- 
zation of  the  church  so  as  to  develop  the 
membership  and  to  use  them  as  a  force 
in  doing  the  work  for  which  the  church 
exists. 


172      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

The  modern  business  organization  has 
its  great  departments,  such  as  the  Manu- 
facturing Department,  the  Sales  Depart- 
ment, the  Publicity  Department,  etc., 
and  a  proper  division  of  labor;  so  the 
Christian  congregation  is  coming  to  see 
that  the  work  of  the  minister  is  not  so 
much  to  serve  the  individual  church 
member  as  to  help  and  train  him  in 
service  for  others.  Even  the  gospel 
itself  goes  into  the  heart  of  the  Christian 
by  the  application  of  the  principle:  "We 
learn  by  doing."  "  Self -activity  is  the 
law  of  growth."  And  so  the  church 
members  must  work.  They  must  find 
their  spheres  of  usefulness,  in  the  social 
uplift  of  the  community,  in  the  winning 
of  new  members  to  the  church  and  in 
educating  themselves  to  specialized,  def- 
inite lines  of  activity. 

It  is  not  possible  to  consider,  within 
the  limits  of  this  chapter,  a  comprehen- 
sive  and   constructive   program   in   the 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    173 

work  of  the  local  church,  but  a  few 
factors  of  efficiency  may  be  mentioned 
which  deserve  special  attention  in  the 
light  of  the  changed  conditions  in  habits 
of  living,  in  the  industrial  order  and  in 
the  needs  of  the  hour  as  they  relate 
themselves  to  the  church  and  the  con- 
sequent necessity  for  readjustment  of 
church  methods. 

(A)  The  local  church  should  keep 
proper  records.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  see 
that  there  are  kept,  by  the  proper  officers, 
complete  minutes  of  meetings,  records 
of  members  baptized  and  confirmed, 
their  attendance  upon  communion,  etc.; 
but  records  which  the  church  must  have 
today  in  order  to  do  its  work  intelli- 
gently, and  not  in  the  dark,  are  applica- 
tion blanks  for  membership  which  cover 
pledges  to  render  service,  cards  for  the 
assignment  of  particular  tasks,  blanks 
to  report  services  rendered,  stated  reports 


174      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

from  the  organizations  within  the  con- 
gregation to  the  consistory.  There  must 
also  be  careful  supervision  through  stand- 
ing committees  of  the  activities  of  the 
congregational  agencies,  an  administra- 
tive committee,  with  the  pastor  an 
ex-oflBcio  member,  and  careful  records 
of  the  financial  and  benevolent  operations 
of  the  congregation  and  of  its  affiliated 
organizations  arranged  for  comparison 
from  year  to  year,  also  stated  printed 
reports  to  the  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, issued  weekly,  monthly,  quarterly, 
or,  at  least,  annually,  giving  in  detail 
items  of  receipts  and  expenditures  and 
summaries  of  the  various  lines  of  activity 
of  the  members  and  the  agencies  of  the 
church. 

But  you  say  this  would  seem  to  make 
the  church  something  of  a  business  estab- 
lishment. Exactly.  That  is  what  should 
be  the  case.  Our  religion  is  one  of  light 
and    knowledge    and    if   we   have   been 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    175 

regarding  the  church  as  capable  of  per- 
forming its  possible  services  to  the  com- 
munity and  to  the  kingdom  without  the 
most  elementary  means  of  administra- 
tion, it  is  time  we  come  to  see  our  mistake 
and  remedy  the  situation. 

(B)  A  Church  Budget.  The  budget  is 
a  statement  of  the  probable  revenues  and 
expenses  for  the  ensuing  year.  The 
church  budget  is  a  detailed  statement 
prepared  by  the  church  treasurer  or 
finance  committee  of  the  several  sums 
that  can  reasonably  be  depended  on  to 
constitute  the  church's  total  income  and 
of  the  items  that  may  be  expected  to 
enter  into  its  total  disbursements.  A 
budget  sets  before  a  church  a  definite 
goal.  It  prevents  the  making  of  appro- 
priations for  which  there  are  no  prospec- 
tive funds.  It  helps  the  church  to  detect 
unwise  and  disproportionate  appropria- 
tions and  it  often  stimulates  the  members 
to  make  larger  offerings  for  objects  that 


176      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

have    not    been    provided    for    as    they 
deserve. 

The  budget  plan  is  workable  in  a 
small  as  well  as  in  a  large  church,  in  the 
country  as  well  as  in  the  city  or  small 
town.  The  budget  plan  should  include 
not  only  estimated  receipts  and  estimated 
operating  expenses  for  the  congregation, 
such  as  pastor's  salary,  pulpit  supplies, 
music,  Sunday  School  or  schools,  sexton, 
fuel,  light,  printing,  etc.,  but  the  budget 
should  also  provide  opportunity  for  the 
members  to  give  to  definite,  benevolent 
causes  and  philanthropic  enterprises — 
contributions  to  missions  of  all  kinds; 
education,  Sunday  School  work,  minis- 
terial aid,  hospitals,  relief  of  the  poor 
and  a  score  of  similar  agencies  usually 
designated  by  the  collective  term 
"Church  benevolences."  There  should 
be  a  separate  treasurer  for  "church 
benevolences";  or  in  any  event  the  re- 
ceipts for  current  expenses  of  all  kinds 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    177 

and  the  receipts  for  benevolences  should 
be  kept  separate  and  apart  and  the  one 
should  not  borrow  from  the  other,  or, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case,  appropriate 
money  received  for  benevolence — for 
use  of  current  expenses.  This  is  rank 
dishonesty  and  a  breach  of  trust. 

An  ideal  method  for  raising  both  the 
church  and  benevolent  budget  is  on  the 
basis  of  the  weekly  offering,  collected 
either  weekly  or  monthly.  The  weekly 
offering  plan  is  the  application  of  the 
budget  to  the  individual  church  member, 
and  experience  shows  that  it  is  a  wise 
and  feasible  method,  productive  of  larger 
results  than  any  other  method  of  church 
finance.  Of  course,  the  weekly  budget 
plan  implies  a  dependence  upon  system- 
atic training  in  mission  study,  community 
service,  regular  presentation  of  the  benev- 
olent causes,  an  annual  canvass  by 
informed,  enthusiastic  canvassers  and, 
in  addition,  provides  for  special  thank 


178      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

offerings  and  the  presentation  of  extra- 
ordinary needs  or  obligations  of  the 
church  in  relation  to  its  own  work,  the 
community  or  the  denomination  to  which 
it  belongs. 

The  minister  should  make  it  a  rule  to 
have  his  church  officers  make  all  an- 
nouncements regarding  current  expenses 
and  offerings  for  benevolence.  The  min- 
ister can  do  his  part  in  presenting  causes 
and  principles  of  giving  in  sermons  and 
printed  announcements. 

(C)  Religious  Education  for  the  Young. 
A  study  of  the  budget  indicates  the  low 
estimate  placed  upon  the  work  of  the 
Sunday  School  in  religious  instruction. 
Protestant  churches  in  the  last  fifty  years 
have  been  giving  an  insignificant  place 
to  the  teaching  function  and  this  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  eighty-three 
per  cent,  of  the  additions  to  church  mem- 
bership come  directly  from  the  Sunday 
School;  practically  the  Sunday  School  is 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    179 

left  to  shift  for  itself  and  receives  only 
an  insignificant  fraction  of  the  funds  of 
the  church.  Its  supplies  for  its  specific 
work  of  religious  education,  besides  being 
stinted,  are  often  the  cheapest  in  the 
market,  and  in  the  case  of  many  Sunday 
Schools  a  large  part  of  the  contributions 
is  diverted  to  outside  enterprises  such 
as  interest  on  church  debts,  which,  if 
worthy,  are  usually  not  nearly  as  much 
in  need  of  support  as  the  school  itself. 
Of  course,  the  pupils  should  be  trained 
to  consider  interests  other  than  their  own 
and  it  is  a  distinct  educational  advance 
to  have  Sunday  Schools  give  to  missions 
and  other  benevolent  causes  and  phil- 
anthropic objects,  but  the  Sunday  Schools 
should  be  supported  through  the  church 
funds,  at  least  in  part.  More  than  this, 
if  we  are  to  be  true  to  the  idea  of  educa- 
tional religion  and  to  meet  the  imperative 
needs  of  the  hour — the  importance  of 
religious  education  for  the  children  must 


180      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

be  magnified.  All  the  agencies  of  the 
congregation,  as  well  as  of  the  Sunday 
School,  intended  for  the  younger  children, 
should  be  developed  with  the  aim  of 
nurturing  and  training  the  children  dur- 
ing the  most  impressionable  years  of  life, 
centering  in  the  instruction  of  the  pastor 
or  of  the  catechetical  class.  Unless  the 
congregation,  through  volunteer  teachers, 
through  pastor  and  trained  deaconesses 
or  Christian  workers,  establishes  in  the 
church  or  Sunday  School  building,  either 
for  the  individual  congregation  or  for 
groups  of  congregations,  stated  periods 
for  week  day  religious  instruction,  we  can- 
not expect  the  Protestant  churches  to 
hold  their  own.  We  surely  are  not  true 
to  the  real  meaning  of  educational  relig- 
ion. Educators  over  the  land  are  coming 
to  recognize  more  and  more  that  the 
real  test  of  efficiency  in  the  local  church 
is  the  preparation  made  for  the  religious 
nurture  of  the  children  of  non-school  age 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    181 

and  the  instruction  in  religion  and  morals 
for  the  children  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  fifteen.  The  Sunday  School  is  mak- 
ing marked  educational  advance  but  the 
Sunday  School  alone  is  not  sufficient. 
The  time  devoted  to  it  is  not  enough, 
the  conditions  under  which  the  instruc- 
tion is  given  are  not  favorable,  the  teach- 
ers, as  a  rule,  are  not  thoroughly  equipped, 
the  lessons  have  not  been  studied  by  the 
pupils,  the  home  has  not  reinforced  the 
importance  and  value  of  the  work.  Ade- 
quate results,  under  such  circumstances, 
cannot  be  reasonably  expected.  May  I 
give  a  single  illustration?  Here  is  a  boy 
who  attends  Sunday  School  for  ten  years, 
from  six  to  sixteen,  a  longer  period  than 
the  average.  He  does  not  devote  as  many 
hours  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  as  the 
same  boy  gives  to  a  single  year's  course 
in  the  High  School  on  Shakespeare. 
What  knowledge  of  arithmetic  would  a 
child  in  the  memory  age  from  nine  to 


182      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

twelve  acquire  if  given  a  half  hour's 
instruction  once  a  week  for  the  three 
or  four  year  period?  Is  it  not  plain 
that  the  lack  of  continuity,  of  systematic, 
consecutive  teaching,  the  lack  of  serious 
time  and  attention,  are  the  fundamental 
reasons  for  the  comparative  failure  of 
the  modern  Sunday  School  and  constitute 
a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  revising 
our  present  methods  by  giving  more  time 
and  attention  to  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  young?  The  reform  must  begin 
with  the  minister  who  at  present  is  giving 
ten  or  twenty  per  cent,  of  his  time  to  the 
ripest  harvest  field  of  the  church  and 
eighty  to  ninety  per  cent,  of  his  time 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  where  rocks 
and  thorns  abound,  where  the  cares  and 
riches  of  the  world  choke  the  word,  and 
where,  according  to  the  teaching  of  our 
Lord  Himself,  only  a  small  percentage 
of  the  seed  sown  comes  to  fruitage. 

(D)  Adequate  Eflficiency  Methods  call 
for  the  cooperation  of  the  home.     The 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    183 

family  is  the  unit  in  the  church  and  state. 
The  influences  that  play  most  profoundly 
upon  human  life  center  in  the  home. 
Philanthropists  and  the  State  recognize 
this,  as  is  evidenced  by  laws  on  housing 
conditions,  child  welfare  and  by  the 
efforts  of  educators  in  the  organization 
of  Home  and  School  Leagues  to  link  the 
home  and  the  public  school  together. 
Does  not  this  point  a  moral  for  the 
church  .f^  Fundamentally,  a  successful 
rule  laid  down  and  applied  to  every 
method  proposed  in  the  Sunday  School 
or  congregation  is — nothing  done  for  the 
child  in  which  the  home  does  not  have 
a  part.  Parents'  Classes,  the  Cradle 
Roll,  the  Home  Department,  are  illus- 
trations of  tendencies  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. 

(E)  Evangelism.  Because  the  church 
has  failed  to  give  chief  time  and  attention 
to  the  children,  in  accordance  with  the 
idea  of  educational  religion,  because  of 


184      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

the  large  alien  populations  in  our  country, 
because  of  the  massing  of  people  in  town 
and  city,  and  because  of  the  practical 
indifference  of  multitudes  of  adults  and 
the  need  of  bridging  over  the  chasm 
between  the  unreached  adults  and  the 
church,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the 
necessity  of  what  is  called  "Evangelism." 
This  means  that  evangelists  have  their 
place  and  function.  The  evangelistic 
note  must  be  sounded  by  the  minister 
in  his  relation  to  the  local  church.  This 
will  call,  not  only  for  united  effort  at 
times  on  the  part  of  the  churches  of  the 
community,  but  also  for  the  readjustment 
of  religious  services  and  the  application 
of  proper  publicity  methods  to  enlist  the 
interest  and  attendance  of  non-church- 
goers and  the  unsaved  through  the  per- 
sonal efforts  of  the  members  of  the 
church.  Perhaps  the  safest  form  of 
continuous  evangelism  is  in  the  system- 
atic work  of  the  Organized  Adult  Class 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    185 

and  Church  Brotherhoods  Hke  the  Broth- 
erhood of  Andrew  and  PhiHp,  working 
directly  upon  tasks  assigned  by  the 
pastor. 

(F)  A  word  should  be  said  respecting 

the  minister's  relations  with  his  official 

board.     Always  exalt  the  noble  dignity 

of  the  office  of  elder  and  of  deacon.    Show 

your   reverence  and    careful   regard    for 

church  oflScers.     Let  every  man  feel  that 

no  greater  honor  will  ever  come  to  him 

than  his  appointment  to  service  in  the 

church  of  his  divine  Lord  and  Saviour. 

The  ordination  and  installation  of  officers 

affords  a  splendid  opportunity  to  cause 

them  to  recognize  their  high  calling  of 

God  in  Christ  Jesus.     A  personal  word 

spoken  to  the  officers  on  the  subject  is 

helpful. 

Dr.  McCauley's  lifelong  habit  was  to 
write  on  important  subjects,  to  his  church 
officers,  to  consult  them  privately,  to 
place  upon  leaders  in  his  consistory  the 


186      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

responsibilities  for  presenting  subjects  of 
importance.  Even  when  away  on  vaca- 
tion, Dr.  McCauley  would  write  fre- 
quently to  members  of  his  official  board. 
It  is  profoundly  important  that  the 
minister  should  be  intimate  with  his 
church  officers,  respect  their  differing 
personalities,  study  their  idiosyncrasies 
and  by  suggestion  and  attitude  magnify 
the  duties  of  their  office.  All  important 
actions  should  have  a  practically  unani- 
mous vote  in  a  consistory.  Never  move 
with  small  majorities.  Never  ignore  the 
duties  placed  upon  the  officers  and  always 
be  careful,  by  example  and  word,  to 
stimulate  every  interest  in  the  work  of 
the  congregation,  denomination  and  king- 
dom. 

(2)  The  minister  as  leader  must  ever 
remember  that  the  atmosphere  and  spirit 
in  which  the  business  and  work  of  the 
church  is  done  determine  its  real  quality 
and  value,  and  more  than  this,  it  is  the 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    187 

minister  who  is  supremely  the  creator 
of  atmosphere  and  the  one  who  incarnates 
the  real  spirit  of  the  church. 

"  'Getting  into  the  spirit  of  it,'  we  all 
know,"  says  Troward,  the  English  phil- 
osopher, "the  meaning  of  that  phrase  in 
our  everyday  life."  "The  spirit  is  that 
which  gives  life  and  movement  to  any- 
thing. In  fact,  it  is  that  which  causes 
it  to  exist  at  all;  the  thought  of  the 
author,  the  impression  of  the  painter,  the 
feeling  of  the  musician,  is  that  without 
which  their  works  could  never  have  come 
into  being,  and  so  it  is  only  as  we  enter 
into  the  idea  which  gives  rise  to  the  work, 
that  we  can  derive  all  the  enjoyment  and 
benefit  from  it  which  it  is  able  to  bestow. 
If  we  cannot  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it, 
the  book,  the  picture,  the  music  are  mean- 
ingless to  us ;  to  appreciate  them  we  must 
share  the  mental  attitude  of  their  creator. 

"This  is  a  universal  principle;  if  we  do 
not  enter  into  the  spirit  of  a  thing  it  is 


188      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

dead  so  far  as  we  are  concerned;  but  if 
we  do  enter  into  it  we  reproduce  in 
ourselves  the  same  quality  of 'life  which 
called  that  inLo  existence." 

Applying  this  to  church  organization, 
it  is  the  personality  or  individuality  of 
the  minister  which  dominates,  but  it,  in 
turn,  is  determined  by  personalities  of 
others.  There  is  a  reciprocal  action. 
One  acts  upon  the  other.  Your  indi- 
viduality, as  minister,  acts  upon  the 
individuality  of  each  of  your  official 
assistants  and  the  individuality  of  each 
of  your  assistants  reacts  upon  you. 

The  result  is  a  composite  individuality 
which  becomes  the  spirit  of  the  organiza- 
tion, and  in  the  case  of  the  church  this 
spirit  of  the  organization  is  influenced  and 
made  vital  by  the  living  Spirit  of  God. 
If  this  spirit  of  the  organization  flows 
freely  from  the  minister  it  will  develop 
his  greatest  power  and  efficiency,  but  the 
individual  minister  must  never  lose  sight 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    189 

of  his  relation  to  the  universal  spirit  of 
the  church  organization.  If  he  says,  "I 
must  assert  my  own  individuality,  my 
own  personality,  in  that  lies  my  strength," 
he  is  correct,  and  yet  in  that  lies  his 
weakness  also.  Our  individuality  and 
strength  grow  only  as  they  are  merged 
with  the  common  or  universal  spirit  and 
mind  and  strength  of  those  with  whom 
we  are  associated.  It  is  humbling  our- 
selves that  the  work  may  be  exalted. 
It  is  expressing  ourselves  in  terms  of  the 
institution  rather  than  of  the  individual 
point  of  view.  It  is  "team  work,"  bear- 
ing one  another's  burden  and  always 
cooperating  for  the  highest  end.  This 
is  the  spirit  of  leadership  which  lives 
and  breathes  and  acts  the  sentiment, 
"each  for  all  and  all  for  each."  It  is  this 
universal  spirit  of  service  which  wins 
in  the  minister's  relations  to  his  church. 
II.  Judicatories.  What  has  been  said 
with  reference  to  the  minister's  relations 


190      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

to  the  congregation  applies  practically 
to  his  relations  to  the  judicatories  of  his 
denomination.  Says  Troward:  "Here 
we  can  cooperate  with  our  fellow-work- 
ers." In  relation  to  the  church  at  large, 
as  in  life,  there  is  only  one  proviso  at- 
tached to  the  forwarding  movement  of 
the  spirit  in  the  world  of  our  surroundings 
and  that  is  that  we  shall  cooperate  with 
it  and  this  cooperation  consists  in  making 
the  best  use  of  existing  conditions,  in 
cheerful  reliance  on  the  spirit  of  increase 
to  express  itself  through  us  and  for  us, 
because  we  are  in  harmony  with  it. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  minister,  according 
to  his  ordination  vow,  to  be  loyal  and 
obedient  to  the  actions  of  his  church 
judicatories.  In  the  deliberations  of 
those  bodies  it  is  proper  for  him  to 
express  his  views  and  to  put  forth  the 
utmost  effort  to  have  them  accepted, 
but  when  the  judicatory  passes  an  action 
there  should  be  not  only  cheerful  acqui- 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    191 

escence  but  active  effort  to  make  real  and 
effective  the  action. 

This  relation  to  the  judicatory  places 
solemn   obligations   upon   the   minister. 

Here  everything  that  he  says  and  does 
may  exert  an  influence,  not  only  in  his 
denomination  but  far  beyond  it.  It  may 
have  a  bearing  on  the  happiness  of  his 
brethren,  his  own  usefulness  and  the 
salvation  of  others,  to  an  extent  which 
no  one  can  measure. 

In  the  church  judicatory  the  minister 
is  called  continually  to  act  with  others, 
as  well  as  for  others.  My  duties  in  the 
church  at  large  have  led  me  to  be  in 
attendance  upon  judicatories  of  every 
character  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
and  it  would  seem  that  many  ministerial 
brethren  regard  lightly  the  obligations 
resting  upon  them.  They  absent  them- 
selves frequently,  waste  time  in  sight- 
seeing and  social  enjoyments  during  the 
sessions. 


192      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

The  time  limit  of  church  judicatories 
is  an  important  fact.  UnUke  legislative 
bodies  of  state  or  nation,  church  judica- 
tories cannot  continue  to  sit  beyond  a 
very  few  days.  Every  moment,  therefore, 
is  doubly  precious.  Every  unnecessary 
speech,  every  trivial  interruption,  every 
failure  to  attend  punctually  and  faith- 
fully, every  neglect  or  piece  of  carelessness 
in  committee  work,  may  have  serious 
results. 

Church  judicatories  form  an  essential 
feature  of  church  government.  Atten- 
dance upon  them  and  faithful  attention 
to  the  work  of  the  judicatory  is  as  much 
a  duty  as  preaching  or  visiting  the  sick 
or  any  other  duty  of  the  ministry. 
Doubtless  the  method  of  procedure  and 
of  conducting  business  in  our  church 
judicatories  is  susceptible  of  large  im- 
provement. It  would  seem  plain  that  the 
laymen  should  be  given  larger  responsibili- 
ties.    Much  of  the  work  should  be  pre- 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    193 

pared  long  in  advance  of  the  meeting 
and  the  spirit  of  forbearance  and  of 
Christian  love  should  more  fully  rule. 
There  should  be  fewer  resolutions,  more 
enthusiasm,  more  earnest  endeavor  to 
carry  out  the  measures  proposed  and 
approved.  Christianity  is  a  religion  of 
love,  and  ministers,  with  their  lay  breth- 
ren in  church  judicatories,  ought  to  be 
most  zealous  for  order,  united  action, 
open-minded  judicial  attitude,  freedom 
from  prejudice  or  passion  and  a  vision 
which  looks  away  and  beyond  the  view- 
point of  personal  predilections  or  simply 
congregational  conditions. 

(3)  The  spirit  of  cooperation  and  of 
whole-hearted  interest  should  manifest 
itself  in  the  minister's  relations  to  the 
benevolent  causes  and  agencies  and  insti- 
tutions of  the  denomination  to  which  he 
belongs.  It  is  his  duty  to  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  their  work,  for  their  work 
is  his  work.     Let  it  never  be  forgotten 


194      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

that  the  Missionary  Boards,  for  instance, 
of  a  denomination,  are  simply  the  agents 
appointed  to  administer  the  work  for 
the  churches.  It  is  a  partnership  affair. 
It  is  doing  by  proxy  that  which  the 
minister  or  the  members  of  his  congre- 
gation cannot  do  for  themselves  but  which 
they  are  obligated  to  do  by  the  terms 
of  the  gospel  they  profess. 

The  Boards  are  the  creation  of  the 
church  judicatories;  therefore,  they  offi- 
cially represent  the  local  church.  This  is 
true,  likewise,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
of  educational  institutions,  orphans' 
homes  and  other  agencies  of  a  denomi- 
nation. Ministers  make  a  most  grievous 
mistake  and  do  incalculable  harm  when 
they  publicly  or  privately  at  the  wrong 
time  and  place  criticize  or  decry  the 
work  of  the  Boards.  There  are  many 
congregations  whose  official  Board  and 
members  are  prejudiced  against  great 
causes  of  the  church  because  of  the  atti- 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    195 

tude  of  the  ministers.  More  than  once 
have  I  talked  with  ministers  who  have 
experienced,  coming  into  a  new  pastorate, 
the  ill  effects  of  such  unwise  contact. 
In  a  certain  congregation  the  minister 
would  allow,  in  his  brief  pastorate,  offer- 
ings to  be  taken  only  for  the  cause  of  the 
Orphan.  To  this  day,  some  of  his  prom- 
inent and  well-to-do  members  are  opposed 
to  missions  and  other  benevolent  causes 
because  of  prejudice  and  foolish  state- 
ments regarding  Boards  and  institutions 
of  the  church  made  by  that  minister. 
Another  minister  poisoned  the  mind  of  a 
liberal-hearted  elder  against  a  great  Board 
of  the  church  because  of  personal  feeling 
against  the  Secretary  of  that  Board  and 
the  pastor  of  that  elder  found  that  a  gift 
of  a  thousand  dollars  or  more  was  lost 
because  of  the  prejudice  lodged  in  the 
mind  of  the  elder. 

Is  it  not  plain  that  to  develop  the 
Christian  virtues  of  fairness  and  courtesy 


196      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

it  is  important  for  the  minister  to  try  to 
see  things  as  others  see  them,  to  speak 
and  act  with  a  view  to  the  feeHngs  of 
others,  as  well  as  of  himself,  to  look 
through  the  eyes  of  those  charged  with 
responsibility  for  the  general  work  of 
the  church  and  in  all  things  to  be  char- 
itable and  always  ready  to  cooperate  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability? 

(4)  There  are  many  interdenomina- 
tional agencies  such  as  the  local.  State 
and  International  S.  S.  Association,  the 
local  Associated  Charities  and  hospitals 
and  multiform  other  agencies  for  com- 
munity uplift,  with  which  the  minister 
must  sustain  a  friendly  and  sympathetic 
relation.  There  are  the  community 

Inter-church  Federation  and  the  great 
federative  bodies  such  as  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  etc.,  the  Council  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches  in  America  holding  the 
Presbyterian  System.     These  movements 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    197 

are  full  of  promise  for  the  larger  activities 
and  unity  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  cannot  separate  ourselves  from  them 
without  personal  loss,  and  injury  to  the 
membership  of  the  church  as  well.  In- 
deed, the  efficient  minister  and  church 
will  give  specialized  tasks  to  the  member- 
ship so  as  to  relate  the  activities  of  the 
individual  members  to  these  various 
agencies  and  uplift  movements.  Par- 
ticularly is  it  true  that  in  the  present 
divided  state  of  Protestantism,  coopera- 
tion on  Christian  principles  instead  of 
competition  on  business  principles  is 
one  of  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the 
churches  today.  Cooperation  econom- 
mizes  effort.  It  prevents  over-lapping 
and  over-looking.  Cooperation  stimu- 
lates effort.  Intelligent  cooperation  in- 
volves system  and  the  systematic  effort 
to  reach  the  entire  community.  It 

stops  competition.  Churches  cease 
hindering  one   another   and  begin  help- 


198      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

ing  one  another.  Cooperation  secures 
mutual  acquaintance  which  is  fruitful 
in  Christian  confidence  and  helpfulness. 
The  organic  union  of  families  of  churches 
must  come  not  through  discussion,  but 
through  cooperative  effort.  Cooperation 
localizes  responsibility.  It  makes  possi- 
ble, for  instance,  the  restoration,  through 
church  federation,  of  the  parish  system 
of  Protestantism.  A  group  of  commun- 
ity churches,  whether  in  the  country  or 
town  or  city,  by  working  together,  can 
adequately  cover  their  field,  can  chal- 
lenge, in  the  light  of  actual  knowledge, 
men  and  women  and  children  to  come 
into  proper  relations  with  the  church  and 
its  work.  Let  us  not  forget  that  in  the 
sweep  of  these  larger  movements  the 
minister  and  his  congregation,  through 
the  denomination  to  which  he  belongs, 
through  the  great  missionary  and  benevo- 
lent causes  and  agencies  and  institutions 
of  the  churches,  and  through  the  great 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    199 

interdenominational  federative  move- 
ments of  the  day,  comes  into  the  larger 
vision  and  real  accomplishment  of  faith 
and  hope  and  love  which  makes  the  life 
of  the  Christian  a  reality  and  a  blessing 
here  and  hereafter.  The  minister's  work 
is  unique.  It  has  no  length  or  depth  or 
height.     It  covers  time  and  eternity. 

The  minister  has  a  gospel  and  does 
a  work  directly  and  specifically  to  man 
as  a  mortal  and  an  immortal  being.  He 
addresses  man  as  a  son  of  God  who  is 
an  heir  of  eternity.  He  trains  the  indi- 
vidual to  prepare  himself  for  an  earthly 
and  for  a  heavenly  citizenship.  The 
larger  horizon  of  the  church  in  its  relation 
to  the  community,  the  church  at  large, 
the  nation  and  the  world  as  one  great 
family,  develops  the  spiritual  faculties 
and  makes  it  easier  for  the  church  mem- 
ber to  throw  upon  the  landscape  of  this 
world  a  new  light  that  shines  far  beyond 
the  common  day  and  reveals  the  immortal 


200      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

life.  The  great  world  tasks  of  the  church 
brighten  and  lift  up  the  common  round 
of  life,  and  the  hope  of  the  immortal  life 
lends  strength  to  the  arm  and  inspiration 
to  the  motive  making  possible  the 
achievement. 

Thus  it  seems  to  me  it  is  the  minister's 
glorious  privilege,  in  his  relation  to  the 
church,  to  find  himself  and  others  in  the 
great  workshop  and  training  school  of 
our  Father's  house.  Here  we  actually 
have  a  part  with  the  divine  Architect, 
Teacher  and  Pilot  of  the  church,  the 
ark  of  safety. 

Have  you  ever  read  one  of  the  most 
delightful  tales  Kipling  ever  told,  which 
illustrates  the  point  which  we  have  been 
endeavoring  to  make  in  this  lecture?  I 
refer  to  his  tale  "The  Ship  That  Found 
Itself"  in  Kipling's  "Stories  and  Poems 
Every  Child  Should  Know."  Be  sure  to 
read  it  and  as  you  read  it  think  of  the 
minister   and   the   King's   business   and 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church    201 

the  finding  of  this  business  by  the  joint 
activity  of  the  minister  and  his  church. 
The  ship  KipHng  tells  about  was  sailing 
on  her  maiden  voyage.  The  owner's 
daughter,  having  just  christened  the 
boat,  remarks  to  the  captain,  in  her  joy, 
that  now  she  is  a  real  ship.  But  the 
captain,  with  his  larger  experience,  replies 
that  it  requires  more  than  christening 
to  make  a  ship;  that  she  has  first  to  find 
herself.  And  then  the  ship  goes  to  sea — 
to  "find  herself."  The  sailing  is  smooth 
so  long  as  the  sea  is  smooth.  Then  a 
storm  appears.  The  waves  mount  higher 
and  higher.  The  ship  begins  to  creak 
and  groan,  and  "to  talk,"  as  Kipling 
expresses  it.  The  various  parts  of  the 
ship  talk  to  each  other — the  capstan,  the 
deck-beams,  the  deck-stringers,  the 
frames,  the  plates,  the  rivets,  the  screw, 
the  engines,  the  cylinders,  the  piston — 
even  the  steam,  which  gives  much  fath- 
erly advice  to  them  all.     Some  of  the 


202      The  Minister  a  Man  Among  Men 

parts  cry  out  for  more  room — more  play. 
The  rivets  retort  that  they  are  placed 
where  they  are  to  hold  tight,  and  they 
are  going  to  do  it! 

But  even  the  rivets  soon  find  that  they 
can't  hold  absolutely  tight,  and  they 
give  a  little — and  then  all  the  parts  of 
the  ship  are  eased  up.  Finally,  one  calls 
out  that  they  should  pull  together.  The 
cry  is  taken  up — *'pull  together,  pull 
together."  The  ship  is  finding  herself. 
Every  part  of  her  gives  and  takes  a  little. 
Soon  all  the  parts  begin  to  learn  that 
they  must  give  and  take  together,  that 
they  must  work  in  unison,  that  even 
though  each  must  render  a  different 
service,  they  all  must  work  together  for 
the  good  of  the  general  service.  And 
when  the  ship  finally  comes  into  the 
harbor,  buffeted  and  battered  by  the 
waves,  she  has  not  only  found  herself, 
but  more  important  still :  each  individual 
piece  in  the  ship  has  found  itself. 


The  Minister  in  Relation  to  the  Church   203 

So  gradually  may  we  all  learn  the  truth 
expressed  by  the  poet, 

"Nothing  useless  is  or  low, 
Each  in  its  place  is  best; 
What  seems  but  idle  show, 
Strengthens  and  supports  the  rest." 

"Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ  and 
members  in  particular,  and  all  the  mem- 
bers are  necessary"  and  must  work 
together. 


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